Piranha
by Kreek
Summary: 10th Doctor. 'What I'm looking for... is a Time Lord.' When visiting a winery, the Doctor starts to feel unwell. Warning: DocAngstHurt
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes**: The idea of the Doctor running into a weapon that could destroy him wouldn't let me go. I wrote a few paragraphs and somehow it morphed into this story. I started this before Last of The Time Lords and I didn't know anything about the gun Martha was supposed to put together then. I debated quitting the story when that episode came around, but now I'm glad I didn't. For your information, no, I'm not from France. I did spend some holidays there though. Also, this is a Tenth Doctor and Rose story, but I really tried to keep it gen.

**Disclaimer: **The characters of Doctor Who belong to the BBC. This is a non-profit story, written pure for fun.  
**Beta: **The amazing Starsky's Strut.  
**Proofread: **My good friend Bluebird.  
**Rating: **A very high T, because of the whump.  
**Warnings: **Doctor whump, spoilers up to and including Doomsday.  
**Setting: **This story follows immediately after "The Satan's Pit"  
**Characters: **The Doctor(10th), Rose Tyler, OC's.  
**Genre: **Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Gen.  
**Words: **29.375  
**Summary: **"What I'm looking for… is a Time Lord."

* * *

**PIRANHA**

**Kreek©March2008**

**Prologue**

He stood upon a small hill overlooking the lands that were once his.

Gone…

Everything he'd worked for. Every investment he'd made, the dreams he'd had.

Visions of the past haunted him, when all he had to do was reach out a hand and touch the power he'd possessed: The hapless maid running chores for him, the butler doing his bidding, huge factories, tons of money, groveling workers, and above all the thrill of being feared. He'd owned agencies, used them to optimize the company's profit.

War was good for business, after all.

The people on this planet owed him. He'd made their economy thrive, placed them on the map.

Who was the Doctor to interfere, to judge what was right and wrong, to take away his life's work, his magnificent weapon factories?

_And turn it into… this._

Banana groves as far as his eyes could see.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"_The killer of his own kind"_

The demon's words echoed in the Doctor's head and mingled with other voices from his past, voices he longed to forget.

"_Move, move, move! If we stay here, we're dead!" He shouted at his friend. They scrambled over toppled walls, circumvented smoking holes and poisonous pockets of air until they reached the huge concrete field where the TARDIS was parked. Beams of white light split the dark of night with a loud whine and impacted near their feet._

"_Doctor!" _

_The panicked yell made him look around. The beams were too close. "Firenni! Come on!" His hearts beat in his throat, and his skin burned with numerous cuts and bruises from his flight through the ruined district, it had been a long time since he'd been this scared. _

_So much was at stake._

_A white beam creased him, singeing his clothing. He could feel its tendrils losing power before it touched the skin. Nevertheless it left him weaker than before. He looked at Firenni, a blond with a slender build. _

_The only one he had left._

"_I can't! I-" Firenni's sentence ended in a gut wrenching cry as a light-beam hit him square in the back. The only sound drowning out his death throws, was the Doctor's own scream of denial…_

Snapping his mind back to the present, the Time Lord quenched the unwanted memory and straightened his face, careful not to show his inner distress to the girl who saved his life in more ways than one.

Sensing his stare, Rose looked up from one of the seats stationed around the TARDIS's console. "Are you okay?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

For a second he could've sworn she was telepathic. Rose sure had the potential. Only her insecure voice betrayed her age. She was so tuned into to his feelings and visa versa; he shouldn't have been surprised at her question.

"Yeah." He made a conscious effort to sound more cheerful. "How about some peace and quiet for a change?" He opted while performing the necessary tasks to keep the TARDIS in motion.

She relaxed upon hearing his plan; her genuine smile showing the Doctor how tired she must feel. "Sounds wonderful. I don't know 'bout you, but I need some fresh air."

He agreed wholeheartedly. The past event had taken its toll and it felt like a cold stake had been driven right through his soul. The quake of the moon's surface beneath them, the destruction of half the mining facility… It hadn't just left him and Rose stranded.

As he'd watched from behind the safety of the air tight door at the widening fissures where his ship once stood, the reality that his people and all their achievements, their identities and their knowledge were gone, drove home with force. He'd looked at the event in horror, feeling much like the moon's rocky surface looked. As if someone had raked his skin with a huge claw and had ripped it open, causing his innards to spill like a bleeding wound and leaving him stripped bare of the one thing that defined him: His TARDIS.

It had fallen deep into the satellite's core.

Unreachable.

Even for a Time Lord.

Maybe it was the feeling of loss wracking his system, an emptiness he'd tried so hard to repress ever since the loss of his planet, that caused his other senses to heighten. For when he'd hugged Rose, the one person who didn't let him forget who he was, he'd felt it: Time in motion, the turning of the centuries, the past and the future. Shoved into an overwhelming feeling that something was coming.

"I had to get her back," he mumbled, silently navigating the ship.

"_The valiant child, who will die in battle so very soon." _The demon had said. Maybe it lied, like he'd told Rose. But the mere existence of the creature within the moon's core only added to his disconcerted feelings, his vague awareness of a disturbance ahead. They'd be torn apart, him and Rose. He felt it and had known he needed the TARDIS to stave off the dark clouds accumulating above them.

Rose studied him. "I know," she answered. "And, whatever it is you found down there, I'm glad it's gone now."

"So," he spoke in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Fancy a trip to France?"

Rose frowned. "Versailles?"

The Doctor couldn't help but grin at the transparent jealousy flashing briefly across his companion's features. She hadn't forgiven him for that little stint with Madam the Pompadour. "Nope, I'm gonna take us to the countryside. There's this guy I know. Owns me a drink. We can relax, pick a terrace or two."

"When?"

"Right now."

"No I mean, what century? I'm really not up to playing the nice servant girl while you go strutting about with the fancy folk in the year eighteen hundred something."

The doctor smiled, thinking of the France courtesans, their dance and their… night life. "Oh but the French are so good at-" The look she shot him instantly killed his trail of thought. "Um, two thousand and six?" He quickly acquiesced and with an exaggerated motion pulled a lever. The TARDIS' engine died. "We're here."

Rose stayed put, her immobility proving that she didn't have much faith in his ability to get them where he wanted them to go.

"I promise!" He exclaimed. "It's summer, two thousand and six. A few weeks after we've last seen your mother. Now go on!"

The twinkle in her eyes was only matched by her huge smile that lifted the worry from his hearts. Jumping off the chair, Rose passed him in a flurry of excitement and dashed outside.

Upon hearing her yelp of surprise, he followed her through the doors. The sun stood high in the sky, basking him in a comfortable temperature. His sense of time instantly told him it was around noon.

Rose had run a few meters away from the police box. All around the Doctor, fields of lavender filled his vision. Except for the odd tree here and there, the TARDIS was the only object of measurable height within sight.

The air was overwhelmingly fresh, earthy and relaxing. Rose fell to her knees and stuck her nose into one of the bushy shrubs to breathe in the heavy scent of the purplish flowers. "It smells heavenly." She sighed in contentment and let herself fall onto her back.

The Doctor plunged down beside her, the ground feeling warm to the touch. A soft breeze ruffled his hair. "Well? What did I say? Nice and quiet?"

"It's wonderful! I've never been to France, well, except Versailles, but that was nothing like this." She stared up at the clear blue sky and closed her eyes, drinking in the lavender's sleep inducing aroma. "I so needed this," she spoke. "After that mining facility, it's good to be on Earth again.

The doctor nodded. "Traveling in time and space can leave you… bottomless. Places like these keep you grounded, remind you of where you're coming from." For a second a huge mountain range passed his inner mind's eye… He stopped talking as he tried to push Gallifrey's unwanted images away and abruptly stood up. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"There's a vineyard. I know the owner… and when I say know, I mean knew… Well, I mean, I know him, but he might not necessarily recognize me anymore."

"'Cos you changed bodies." Rose simply stated, referring to his ability to regenerate when he died. She stood up and brushed the dirt from her jeans.

He shrugged. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'll think of something. Besides, his wife's a great cook and we could do with some lunch." A wave off dizziness suddenly hit him. He staggered backwards to keep his balance. It only took a moment, then it was gone. _That was weird._

Luckily, Rose hadn't noticed. She put a hand on her brow to shade her eyes from the bright sunlight and studied the horizon. "Yeah, I'm starving, and no offense, Doctor, but the TARDIS isn't the world's best restaurant and you're a lousy cook."

The Doctor scowled. "You sound like Jack."

"Now that man could cook. God, I'd give anything for one of his pastries right now." She started walking.

Trying to hide his discomfort, the Doctor took his jacket off and strolled beside her into the direction where he knew the vineyard was located. He felt unwell, like he was walking on a set of clouds. _Recent events must have had a bigger impact on me than I thought. Maybe Rose's right and all I need is a good hearty meal. _

The soft purple of the lavender fields slowly changed into the hard green of the vineyard, soon dominating the countryside. They'd walked for half an hour when in the distance, the Doctor could make out the small estate that was the winery. To his left, the buildings of a nearby village took shape.

As the minutes progressed, he felt steadily worse. Balls of cotton seemed to clog his head and he had trouble thinking straight. He removed the sweat from his brow and staggered a little.

"Are you okay?" Rose's concerned voice penetrated his fogged mind.

"Yeah, just… give me a moment." Standing still, he closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath, but a feeling of vertigo made him sway on his feet. Unexpectedly, he felt like he was choking. For a second, he panicked, as he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. Suddenly, the unease passed and the dizziness lifted. Still breathing erratically, he found he was able to think clearly again.

"Doctor?"

He felt a hand on his arm and found Rose looking worriedly into his eyes. Hiding his moment of weakness with experience, he abruptly straightened and smiled. "Right, sorry about that," he answered cheerfully.

"Don't give me the 'all is well' routine! And don't tell me you got a touch of the flu, 'Cos I'm not buying that."

He studied her briefly, then gladly let go of his façade. "I just felt… sick all of a sudden."

"You never get ill, not unless you regenerate or something." Alarmed, she pulled back her hand. "You're not-"

"No." He spoke seriously. "No, at least, I don't think so." _Strange that I can't tell_. Regaining his strength, he took a few steps forward and looked up at the sky. "There's something in the air," he spoke softly.

Rose came to stand beside him. "You had trouble breathing?"

He nodded. "Still do. Come on, we need to get to the vineyard. It's closer than the TARDIS and we might get a decent meal there." He didn't tell her the whole story. Like the reason he was able to walk around was because his respiratory bypass system had kicked in. _I need to rest, and soon, _he thought.

But Rose wasn't fooled. She watched him, obviously trying to gauge how off he really felt. "You look horrible, forget the food, first thing I'm gonna ask for is a bed."

He gave her an honest smile and cocked his head. "Oooh, a bed sounds really good right now."

XXXXX


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Salliery gazed upon the time device strapped around his left wrist. _Only a couple of these in existence and I happened to own one of them. The day I traded this for a squareness gun was the luckiest day in my life. This little time travelling gadget saved my life. _His mind drifted away in thought. _Ah… Captain Jack Harkness, you owned two of these. The things I had to do to get my hands one of them. You sure knew how to make a bargain. _

The factories of Villengard were destroyed, gone, erased from the face of the planet. The burning buildings, the scorching ground, the explosions all around still haunted him every night. But this device had allowed him to escape both the Doctor's wrath and the Fifty-first century. He wasn't beaten. This was merely an opportunity to start fresh and anew.

This time, nobody was going to stop him.

* * *

Two huge open iron gates marked the start of the secluded driveway to the estate. Hesitantly Rose followed the Doctor onto private grounds. After a minute, the road opened up on a huge patch of grass bordered by buildings on three sides. The driveway lead all the way up to the elevated porch of the mansion: a huge three storied, gray brick structure in front of her, which seemed to stem from Middle ages. The buildings standing to her right and left were smaller, but of the same makings. Rose guessed they were used to make the wine.

Worriedly, she watched her friend as they made their way toward the main house. The Doctor was unusually quiet. His face was drawn, his breathing shallow. "The 'thing' back on that moon. It didn't touch you, did it, gave you a disease or something?"

"No," he spoke, keeping his voice down. "I felt fine back in the TARDIS." He squinted, as if he concentrated on something within.

"You said there's something in the air? Maybe you're allergic."

He looked up with a 'Don't be ridiculous' expression.

"To the lavender," she elaborated, refusing to discard the option just because Time Lords apparently didn't have allergies.

The Doctor looked at her in bemusement.

_Right, not the lavender then. _

Three cars were parked at the end of the driveway. "Doctor, the plates," she whispered.

He followed her gaze toward the two Renaults and the one Rover. "They're multi national, well, well, well. I guess Remy has visitors. He lifted his jacket, which still hung loosely over his arm and reached inside for the psychic paper.

"You're not going to tell this 'Remy' who you are?"

"No, not jet. I don't like the look of those cars, and see that cable?" He pointed at a power line running down an ivy grown wall of the mansion. "When I was here last, Remy didn't have electricity or a phone. Something's wrong here. Let's check the place out first, huh?" He took one of the concrete steps leading up to the porch and swayed a little.

Rose frowned and quickly reached forward to grab his arm. She took the psychic paper from his hands. "You just take it easy, mister, I'll do the talkin'… for once."

* * *

The Doctor looked over his shoulder at the cars while Rose used the brass knocker on the massive oak-wood front door. He didn't like what he was seeing. Remy was the kind of guy who loved his vineyard and only on occasion went to the village to get some groceries. Although the guy had entertained a certain Gallifreyan once, Remy wasn't a man of the world. Having visitors from two different countries -the Doctor squinted to read the license plates- Great Britain, Spain and one Renault from French itself, was highly irregular. Of course, he could've changed into a globetrotter over night.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Rose, don't use 'John Smith,' he spoke quickly. "I've used that name before, and act a little mysterious, you know, James Bond like. Oh and if they're asking, we're in 'energy'. It's always safe to use that word. People in power thrive on it; the universe thrives on it. Did you know that there's an entire planet out there where acting energetically is forbidden? I barely got out with-"

"Will you stop rattling, don't you trust me?"

"Right, sorry."

He would have said more, but at that moment the door opened to reveal a man whose age was hard to guess. With short-cropped black hair and warm brown eyes, Remy hadn't changed much since the Doctor had last seen him.

Rose held up the psychic paper and managed to sound quite the professional when she spoke. "Hi, we're here for the…" the Doctor could tell she hesitated on purpose before waving nonchalantly at the cars. "Party."

"Of course." Dressed in a three-piece suit, Remy gave Rose a beaming smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Before she could say another word he turned to shout at someone inside. "Salliery, two more for your demonstration! Can I have your names please?"

"Rose Smith and John… Tyler," she answered.

The Doctor lifted an eyebrow as Rose turned to smile sweetly at him. "I walked right into that one, didn't I?" he whispered.

_Yep, _her eyes seemed to say.

"Follow me, please," Remy spoke.

They entered upon a massive hallway. A grant stairway loomed in front of them, branching out to either side as it reached the first floor. The wooden floor and tapestries on the wall were just like the Doctor remembered them. Remy led them into the small reception area where four people already occupied two lush couches placed around a table.

"Luc," their guide addressed an elderly man with a stern face. "Mr. Tyler and Mrs. Smith."

"Good afternoon, I'm Luc Salliery," the gray-haired man stood up and motioned to Remy. "This here's Remy Bonjour. May I ask how you came to know of this… party?"

"Oh, we have our sources." The Doctor stepped in, taking his introductory handshake.

Salliery nodded at the other guests. "Michelle La Beau, Joe Mason and Raphael Costa, some of Europe's finest specialists. Different fields, of course."

The Doctor studied the threesome: A pretty French woman in her thirties, an older Englishman with a moustache and a tough, muscular young Spaniard. Their nationalities matched the license plates of the cars on the parking lot.

"Ah, you are a handsome man, Mister Tyler." Michelle stood up and walked toward him holding out a hand.

Sheer force of habit, and perhaps having spent too much time among the French courtesans, made the Doctor gently kiss her on the back of her hand. Michelle glanced at Rose, who gave her a thin smile.

"May I inquire as to your field of expertise, Mrs. Smith?" Joe spoke in a low voice.

"We're in um… energy," she answered quickly.

Suddenly the Doctor felt the earth swaying beneath his feet. The air seemed to thicken, pressing relentlessly down on him. He took a step backward, away from Michelle and nearer to Rose. Breathing sharp short breaths, he desperately tried to hide his discomfort. It had been a long time since he'd felt this tired. Being inside the house only seemed to worsen his condition.

"We've been traveling for a while," Rose thankfully spoke up. "Is there a place we can freshen up?"

"Of course," Remy answered, walking toward the grand staircase. "I'll show you to your rooms. Please rest and relax before the meeting tonight."

For once the Doctor was happy to let Rose take the lead.

* * *

Rose took in the reasonably sized bedroom. There were two single beds, a chair, desk and dresser, all in whitewashed wood to match the floorboards, and a bay window opposite her position. To her left was another door. She guessed it led to an en suite bathroom. The bunch of flowers on the desk bathed the room in the sweet smell of freshly cut lavender. "Doctor," Rose started to say as soon as Remy left them. She turned and was just in time to catch him as he sank to the ground.

"I just… It's…" he spoke between gritted teeth. He looked up at her, his eyes betraying how he hated feeling this vulnerable.

"C'mon, let's get you on the bed." She put his arm around her shoulder and dragged him over to one of the divans covered with a lush purple and white checkered duvet. Gently she set him down. Tiredly, the Doctor swung both his legs on the bed and let his head fall backward against the backrest. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again the brown seemed devoid of its usual depth.

Worriedly she ran a hand through his unruly hair and then frowned when he didn't protest.

He shook his head. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You've never felt like this before?"

"Well, there was this one time…" His voice drifted away in thought.

Rose waited for him to say more, but he fell silent. Knowing better than to push the subject, she put a hand to his head instead. "God you're burning up." It took just a few seconds for her to get a wet cloth from the bathroom. "Can't the TARDIS help?" She opted, handing him the cloth. He put it against his forehead.

"No. Good thinking. But no," he stated bluntly, then closed up again.

Hiding her frustration, she tried to use a different approach. "There was this small cat we used to own," she started. "Mica, a little black tabby. One day, he just walked into our lives to stay. I remember noticing how he stopped eating. How thin and emaciated Mica became. In the end we took him to the vet-"

"Is there a point to this story?" The Doctor interrupted too quickly, obviously already knowing the answer.

She'd felt so helpless at not being able to interpret Mica's pain filled green eyes looking up at her. Looking at the Doctor the same feeling of helplessness reared its ugly head. Only this time it was laced with fear. She couldn't take him to 'a vet' or any kind of physician to make him all better, like they did with Mica. The Doctor was the last of his kind. If he couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, nobody could.

"When, Doctor?"

"When what?"

"You said you felt like this once before?"

His brown eyes locked on hers. In them, Rose read a deep pain of loss, of a past event that he struggled to hide from her. She already knew about the Time War, the one that made him the last of his kind, so that couldn't be it. She looked at him, willing him to talk and at the same time feeling scared of the truth. "Oh… long ago," He spoke softly. "Don't worry, it's not the same. As I said, I'm not dying or anything, I'm just… so damn tired." He slid back on the bed.

Rose stared at him for a full minute before realizing he had closed his eyes and was asleep. _You never sleep, Doctor. Not this quickly, not this much. _Worriedly she vowed to get to the bottom of this. The Doctor was right, it was time to do some exploring.

XXXXX


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Softly, Rose locked the bedroom door behind her and leaned against it. She wasn't afraid to admit that she was a little scared by the whole thing. The hallway smelled of wood oil, undoubtedly coming from the chestnut side table and wardrobe lining the wall. Only one other door could be found on this floor. Probably leading to another guestroom. Eyeing it suspiciously, she wondered whose it was.

"It's Salliery's."

Startled, Rose whipped around to find Remy coming up the stairs, his gaze locked on the second guestroom as if he was contemplating something.

"You're the owner right? There was something odd about Salliery. Something out of place, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Has he been here long?"

She found herself attracted to Remy's smile. "Long enough," he spoke evasively. "I came up here to ask if you'd like something to eat. You've been traveling for a long time." He cocked his head. "How did you know this is _my_ vineyard?"

"Oh… we did our research before we came here."

"Of course."

They started walking. Remy led her down the stairs, through the grant entrance hall, and into the dining room where the others were already having their lunch at a massive table.

"Remy! Come in! Ah, and the pretty Rose," Raphael exclaimed in a Spanish accent. "Here, I saved you a seat." He gestured at her.

The rectangular table was filled with croissants, fillings, jugs with orange juice, and a bottle of house wine. Two huge bunches of lavender stood in vases on either end of the table. Carefully, Rose sat down. "Isn't your wife going to join us?" She asked Remy innocently, after taking inventory of the gathered guests. She noticed that Salliery, who sat opposite of her, suddenly fell quiet.

"Uh, no," Remy answered with obvious hesitation in his voice. "She's visiting her mother in Paris and will not be back until next week."

"So, Rose, tell me more about the work you do," Joe interrupted. His lack of accent betrayed that he was from England, like herself.

"You'll have to ask Mr. Tyler. I'm just his assistant." She helped herself to some juice and took a few sips. "What about you?"

"You could say I represent a special branch of several European governments." Joe nodded at Raphael. "Costa here's a trader, one of the best in his field, and sweet Michelle here's one of the leading business women at the moment."

It sounded as if Salliery was setting up a major product. Rose wondered what it was and why he needed all these 'important' people together on an out of the way vineyard in France.

Salliery put down his napkin and one by one looked his guests in the eye. "Well, I might as well shred some light on the mystery," he started, confirming Rose's suspicion that the others had no more an idea of why they were here than Rose had. "Some of you I invited," he eyed Raphael and Remy. "Some found their way through the channels," he looked at Rose and Joe. "Follow me." He stood up.

It took them a moment to realize that Salliery was leaving. Chairs scraped on the hardwood floor in the guests' hasty attempt to stand up.

Rose trailed behind them as Salliery led them through a drawing room, into another hallway and out into a secluded part of the backyard. In the distance, beyond the large lawn in front of her, she spotted the purplish glow of the lavender fields. To her left, fifty feet away stood a few trees.

"I could explain this in every detail, but what better way than to show you." Salliery smiled. "Bonjour?"

Rose was startled to find Remy holding a weapon, one so large, it barely fit underneath his jacket. He handed it over to Salliery, who aimed it at one of the trees. She expected a _bang _when he fired, but instead there was only a loud _pop_. Instantly the tree disappeared, not even leaving a smoking hole behind.

Her mouth dropped.

"Weapons, my dear friends," Salliery stated grimly, "is what this is all about. Devices that make your atomic bombs look like child play. Guns that can turn a lost war into a victory." He turned towards them. "And they are yours. For a price, of course."

Rose stared at him. Salliery couldn't have weaponry like this until at least the fifty-first century. With a sinking feeling she continued to watch the demonstration.

* * *

_I can feel it, the turn of the Earth, the ground beneath our feet spinning at a thousand miles an hour. The entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty seven thousand miles an hour and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me. _

Not anymore.

It was gone. His awareness of time and space, of past and future, of what is and what should be. The sixth sense that was part of a Time Lords physiology, gone. In its place was a big black hole of emptiness, growing, slowly filling up his soul with nothingness.

* * *

Rose opened the door with one hand and balanced a dinner-tray with the other.

She found the Doctor sitting up in bed, his palms pressed into his eyes. He had tilted his head slightly and stayed in that position even though he must have heard her coming in.

"Doctor!" She put down the plate and ran toward him.

He groaned with a low voice that didn't exactly speak of pain. Getting hold of his wrist, she tried to pull his hands away from his eyes. He refused to budge, the muscles in his arms locked tied. To her surprise he was shaking. "Doctor?" She tried again, fear closing up her throat.

"It's… gone, Rose."

"What? What's gone?" She sat down on the bed and managed to pry away one of his hands. He lowered the other and looked at her with bloodshot eyes. The panic behind them was hard to miss.

"Time and space and… and… everything."

"You're not making any sense." She'd never seen him like this before. His lack of control frightened her.

"Right, exactly, that's it, no sense at all," he gave her a weak smile, then closed his eyes in sudden pain. "My awareness of when… and… and where. You know, the whole, 'feeling the earth moving beneath my feet' speech?"

"I thought that was just a brag."

"Not… really. Well, maybe. Okay, just a bit." He looked up. "It's gone, Rose. I feel like I've gone blind."

"Welcome to my world," she blurted and managed to get a grimace from him. "Seriously, though. This has never happened to you before?"

"Yes, but only if I invoke it myself. And I did no such thing. "How long did I sleep?"

"For the entire afternoon."

"What!" The doctor quickly swung his feet out of bed and reached for his jacket to pull out the sonic screwdriver. Aiming it at the ceiling, the tool produced its whirring sound. "There's something in the air, Rose. Something that's making me sick," he mumbled.

"Anything?"

Her friend lowered the screwdriver with a brooding expression on his face. "Nothing. Not a damn thing." He checked under the bed, then sat up again, surveying the room, searching for any tangible proof which could cause a Time Lord to go 'blind.' His eyes actually brightened as he noticed the plate. "Is that food?"

Yeah," she smiled. "You better hurry up and eat, mister. The meeting's in a few minutes. She picked up the plate and put it down on his lap.

He took a bite of the croissant. "So, bwat did you bfound out?"

She told him about the guests' field of interests, and Salliery's little demonstration.

"You're right, that's odd. Very odd," he agreed, taking a sip of the house wine. He frowned, then looked at his glass and put it away. "Blimey, that's awful!"

"It tasted fine to me."

"Really?" He eyed the wine bottle suspiciously, then reached for the orange juice instead.

"Doctor, the meeting."

"Right, yes. I tell you what, I'll go and uh… freshen up a bit, while you try and sneak into Salliery's room. There's bound to be some answers in there." He threw her the sonic screwdriver. "Just point it at the door lock."

"Are you going to be okay?" She couldn't help but worry. Even though he acted his bouncy self, his face still looked pale and she could tell by the occasional quiver in his voice that he had trouble keeping his composure.

"Fine, fine, now go!"

Reluctantly, she did as she was told.

* * *

Salliery's room carried the air of a well-lived in space. It wasn't much bigger than hers and the doctor's, but it didn't have any windows. No lavender patterns in here. Just red, dark woods, and generally old fashion looking. After turning on the light, Rose nervously kept an eye on the now closed door behind her, praying the room's owner wouldn't walk in.

She headed for a nightstand beside the bed to open the drawer and found nothing but a few personal belongings, like a watch, and a book about the Second World War. After rummaging the items aside, she spotted a key hidden underneath the novel. She looked up at the wardrobe to the left of her. _Doesn't hurt to try._

The key fit.

With a satisfying click, the wardrobe doors opened. A couple of double-breasted jackets hung on coat hangers. Rose reached out to search around the few folded up trousers lying on the top shelf. Her fingers locked onto something round and sturdy. She pulled it out.

It was a black, bracelet-like object.

She gasped in recognition. A wrist-device, like the one Time-agents had -like Jack used to have-, which meant Salliery was probably from the future. _That explains the weapons. _

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps closed in. Alarmed, she looked for a place to hide. The wardrobe! She stepped inside, closed the doors and backed off between the jackets. Suddenly, she tripped over some shoes and stumbled against the wooden back paneling, which _whooshed _aside without warning.

With a soft cry she fell into the darkness beyond.

The panel slid close again, as if Rose had never been there.

XXXXX


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Emerging from the bedroom, the Doctor was surprised to see Salliery coming up to him from the other guestroom. _If _he _was in there, then where's Rose? _

"Mr. Tyler, feeling better, I hope." Salliery smiled politely.

"Yeah, you know… it's been a long journey." Truth to be told, he felt exactly the same as he did when he woke up. Although he had to constantly suppress the urge to shake his head in an attempt to lift this 'blindness' -he had to admit that his sudden inability to feel time and space left him shaking- he was able to handle the dizzy spells and sudden tilting floor now. For one thing he was breathing normally again instead of relying on his bypass system. "I heard the meeting's about to start?"

"Yeah, in the drawing room. Is your friend not going to join us?"

The question sounded genuine enough, leading him to assume Salliery hadn't seen her. "No, I can manage on my own. She's sleeping."

"Good. I'll see you downstairs, Mr. Tyler."

The Doctor watched Salliery leave, and then headed for the man's bedroom. It was locked. "Rose," he called, knocking softly on the wood. "Rose."

No answer.

He wished he could be certain the room was empty, but without the sonic screwdriver it would take him a while to open the door. Time he didn't have. If he didn't get to the meeting soon, Salliery would get suspicious. He didn't like it, but reluctantly left for the stairs. He trusted the fact that Rose knew what she was doing and had just wandered off as she was prone to do.

The drawing room consisted of a couple of lush armchairs with the occasional footstool, a sofa, and a table with the familiar vase and lavender on top. Huge bookcases lined three walls, while the last wall supported two large bay windows. The Doctor nodded at Joe the government agent and then headed for one of the windows to look outside where the large lawn, which Rose had seen earlier, greeted him. He looked down to see some lavender growing beneath the sill. One by one the other guests filed into the room. Salliery entered last and offered them all a drink. Both the Doctor and Michelle declined. Just looking at the bottle of house wine caused nausea to rise in his throat.

"Thank you all for coming," Salliery started the meeting as everyone except him and the Doctor had settled themselves comfortably on the chairs and sofa. "Before I start talking business, there's a matter of importance I have to address first." He walked toward the table and looked around. "You see, one of us is not who he says he is."

Silence fell.

Still standing by the window, the Doctor kept quiet and calmly waited for what happened next.

"Are you saying there's a foreign agent among us? Or a spy?" Joe finally asked.

"Or a journalist?" Michelle opted with a chuckle.

"No," Salliery shook his head and put his glass down on the table. "If only it was as simple as that. No my friends, what I'm looking for… is a Time Lord."

Inwardly, the Doctor froze and watched Salliery scout the room for any reaction.

"A what?" Costa's voice sounded incredulous.

"The Doctor, I want him."

"I'm a doctor," the Doctor added innocently. "Of physics."

"Oh, this is not any Doctor." Salliery leaned in. "This is the stuff of legends."

"What are you talking about?" Michelle asked, genuinely bewildered.

Salliery raised his voice when he spoke. "The one who travels through time, who meddles with people's history, with humanity. He thinks he's a God, has so many faces and is over nine hundred years old."

The Doctor tensed, but kept his composure as he stepped forwards to join the others.

"Nine hundred years old?" Joe laughed. "That's ridiculous."

Salliery eyed him suspiciously, before letting his gaze drift toward the others. "What's more, he's here." One by one he fixed them with a stare. "One of you, gentleman."

"Is that why you are having this meeting? Because you are convinced someone is this time meddler whatever?" Michelle spoke with a heavily French accent; obviously convinced Luc Salliery was crazy.

"Time lord," Salliery corrected. "And don't flatter yourself, he's always a man."

Michelle snorted and was about to say more, but Costa interrupted her.

"Now wait just a damn minute. You're saying one of us," he waved at Joe, himself and the Doctor, "is this … this… immortal, God-like… creature?"

"Oh he's not immortal," Salliery spoke convincingly.

"You're crazy," The Doctor pitched in.

"Really?" Salliery turned toward him. "So how come a certain device has gone missing from my room?"

"You're not making any sense here, Luc," Remy interrupted. "What kind of device?"

Salliery looked confused at Remy. As if their host knew full well what sort of device it was. A smile tugged at the corner of the Doctor's lip. Apparently the vineyard owner still tried to protect the alien that had once been his guest.

"Let's just say that a Time Lord is about the only person on this planet who would recognize the object for what it is," Salliery explained.

"So," Michelle spoke softly. "You are saying that he took it?"

"This is preposterous," Joe interrupted and stood up to face Salliery. "No one can live for so many years, believe me I know. I hold a few doctorates myself, and one of them is in biology. The body is not meant to endure for that long. The cellular decay makes sure-"

"Maybe you're just saying this to protect your own identity? You never told me you had a Doctor's degree?"

"I need it for the line of government work I'm in!" Joe snapped. "Ever heard of biological warfare?"

Salliery gave a thin smile. "Or how about you, Raphael. The hot blooded one? Or is that just a show to throw us off guard? Because Time Lords are extremely clever. They're masters at manipulating people into doing their bidding." He swiveled toward the Doctor. "Or you, John Tyler. The quiet physicist and his assistant." He watched them all for a while, then abruptly turned toward a cabinet and pulled open a drawer to take out a revolver-like object.

Behind a mask of deceptive calmness, the Doctor exchanged glances with the others. Joe and Costa looked uncomfortably at each other, and then included the Doctor in their stares. He could tell that none of them believed there was such a thing as a 'Time Lord,' that Salliery was just a crazy old coot, who unfortunately had the means to get them all killed. He had a bad feeling about this. Salliery had obviously gone through great lengths to get at him. Somehow, all of this must be linked with his recent illness. Maybe the trap had sprung from the moment he'd set foot on the estate.

"Do you know what this is?" Salliery rolled the heavy looking item in his hand; then held it up for all to see.

At the sight of the object, the Doctor felt his blood run cold. He stared at the small, bronze revolver, with its thin but deadly looking muzzle through which no bullet would fit. The light streaming in from the windows ricocheted of the gun's reddish surface. Anxiety worked its way up his spine and a heavy stone settled in his stomach. He walked forward as if to take a better look but froze behind Costa's arm chair. Joe, who'd backed off at the sight of the weapon also stopped moving as Salliery aimed the gun at the three of them. Michelle let out a soft cry and moved herself out of the way, nearer to the door where Remy was standing

"The Doctor knows, do you Doc?" Salliery spoke malevolent.

He knew.

Images surfaced again: _Firenni's gut wrenching cry as the light-beam hit him square in the back. His own scream of denial as he watched his friend die in his arms. _The shock of loss had lingered for weeks. The feeling of loneliness…

"My God, Salliery. Have you gone completely mad?" Michelle's voice pulled the Doctor out of his past. "No one here is over nine hundred years old!" She continued. "No one is a Time Lord and no one is a God! If anyone is acting like a deity, you are! You decide who is to live and who is to die now?"

Without warning, Salliery aimed for Michelle and fired the weapon. The high pitched whine of the gun drowned out her scream as a beam of bright white light instantly enveloped her. It was over within a second. Michelle stood momentarily frozen. Then threw her own weapon of colorful French curses at Salliery. She was unharmed.

"It doesn't look very lethal to me," Costa opted with a shaking voice.

"To a human, no," Salliery explained coldly and turned his attention back to the men. "But to a Time Lord," he lifted the gun. "This thing," he aimed again at the men. "Is deadly."

Only through years of experience did The Doctor manage to keep his air of outward calm.

_A 'piranha-gun.'_

In all his lifetimes, he had the good fortune to only come across the weapon once. That was enough thank you very much. This gun could kill him ten times over, literally. If it hit him, no regeneration could save him. The beam would suck away his energy within minutes. It was the only known weapon to do that, and one of the few things the Doctor truly feared. He'd seen it being used on Firenni a long time ago, seen what it had done to him, the image of his friend's face still clear as if it happened yesterday. For a split second fear got the better of him. His eyes rested a tad too long on the bronze object.

Like a vulture locating its prey, Salliery switched aim, fixing him on the spot with a gaze of cold satisfaction. "Isn't that right? Doctor."

Their eyes locked. Involuntarily, he raised his hands.

Michelle, Joe and Costa looked at him in astonishment.

"What do you want with me?" Knowing the show was over he dropped his voice to an authoritative low pitch. Despite his fears, The Doctor knew his tone still had a dangerous edge to it.

Joe opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again at the sudden voice change. Near the sofa, Remy watched him in awe.

"You're coming with me," Salliery commanded.

"Oh, I really don't think so. Not until you release them," he motioned to the other guests. "And I mean all of them."

Salliery walked forward. "You seem to forget who's holding all the cards here," he threatened, lifting the gun higher.

The Doctor suddenly felt the dreaded feeling of vertigo taking hold of him. He blinked a few times but managed to hold his ground.

"Not feeling a hundred percent, are you now?" Salliery taunted him.

It took a while for the dizziness to dissipate. "What did you do to me?"

"See for yourself."

To the doctor's surprise, Salliery took out the sonic screwdriver from his inside pocket and threw it toward him. He caught it. Since his captor hadn't used Rose to black mail him, The Doctor was pretty sure she was still safe and sound, somewhere. Still, he couldn't help but let his concern for her harden his voice. "Where did you get this?"

"In my wardrobe, on the floor. You probably lost it when you took the vortex manipulator. Go on. Use it." Salliery commanded.

_A vortex manipulator? _Pieces of the puzzle fell into place. _A time-traveling device. So, that's how he got back to this century. If it's gone missing then Rose probably took it from his room. Good girl! _The Doctor looked up. "I already checked. There's nothing," he admitted grudgingly.

The admission earned him a slight smile from Salliery, who seemed pleased that he'd managed to conceal the cause of the Doctor's illness from him. "Check for the compound found in the gun, Doctor."

The Doctor returned the cold stare, and then gauged the others in the room. Apart from Remy, who gave him a concerned look, they all watched the confrontation in bewilderment. Costa in particular seemed scared. Joe frowned, simply taking in all that happened, and Michelle ignored him all together. Instead, she kept her eyes on Salliery. He followed her gaze, adding his icy glance to hers.

Focusing on the task at hand, the Doctor changed the setting on the screwdriver. The beeping sounds drew Michelle's attention. He briefly locked eyes with her and could tell she was intimidated, but not scared. Purposefully, he lifted the screwdriver at the ceiling and turned it on, its whirring sound immediately filling the room. Then its blue light brightened. He lowered the tool, locating the source of his illness with acute precision. Steadying his hand, he found himself aiming straight for the table and bunch of flowers on top. "The lavender," he whispered.

_Rose was right._

The compound was embedded in the scent of the purple flowers. No wonder he felt so bad. The lavender was everywhere, fields of them outside, and inside bunches of them in every room, permeating the air with their destructive chemicals.

"A fail-safe, Doctor. In case you showed up." Salliery explained as he walked around them toward the window. "I realized it would only be a matter of time before you would find out about my little operation there, and I decided to plan against it."

_But the only reason I stumbled upon this place was because Rose needed a vacation. _Of course, he wasn't about to tell Salliery that. Instead, he kept quiet and listened, contemplating the distance between him and the door.

"As you well know, the design of this gun has been greatly perfected over the centuries, Salliery continued. "However, despite the changes, it still contains the deadly chemical compound from the cumbersome prototype. I merely extracted and distributed it using the lavender." He motioned to the fields outside. "Its scent is now rich with these beautiful chemicals. I also managed to merge it with the house wine, which I'm sure you've been drinking. I used a low concentration of course, enough to make you feel its effects. Call it my first line of defense."

The Doctor desperately tried to get a grip on the situation. "But you knew I was ill. You knew the moment Rose took me upstairs," he sounded hoarse. Salliery continuously seemed to be one step ahead of him.

"Ah, but so was Joe here, when he arrived. Travel sickness, wasn't it Mason?"

Joe nodded. "I was out for a day."

"I have to admit, Mason," Salliery said, "that I kept a close eye on you."

"Yes, right, fantastic, whatever." the Doctor interrupted more joyfully than he felt. "My original demand still stands." His voice turned grim. "Let them go."

Salliery smiled. "You're in no position to make demands, Doctor."

"Ah, but I can be very, very stubborn," In a desperate bid, he aimed the screwdriver at Salliery, knowing it wouldn't do much good. "And if I were a betting man, I'd say you much rather have me cooperating, don't you?" From the corner of his eye he noticed Remy moving toward the window. The man gave a barely perceptible nod.

There was a short silence as his adversary gauged his options. "No can do, Doc, I need-"

Remy chose that moment to slam into Salliery, throwing him backward against the windowsill. The vineyard owner groped for the gun, causing Salliery to lose his aim.

The Doctor pelted for the door.

A burst of screaming, bright light hit him square in the back; enveloped him, instantly ripped him apart. He crashed into Michelle. She caught him in reflex as the whining ray penetrated the core of his being and like piranha fish would do to flesh, relentlessly started to chew away his energy and strip him of his lives, his regenerations. Eyes widening in shock, he gasped at the sudden pain when his lungs started to burn and he desperately tried to get some air inside.

The high pitched sound of the gun stopped.

He felt Michelle's fingers tightening and through a red haze looked straight up into compassionate eyes. _Rose, tell her… _He cringed with pain.

Then the gun fired again, and this time he fell into a deep pit of oblivion.

XXXXX


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Stop it! Stop it!" Michelle screamed, tears streaming down her face while she clung to John. The beam sent his body in her arms into spasms as the onslaught of the ray continued. John's twisting and shaking gradually died down. When Salliery finally stopped firing, he lay completely still.

Michelle leaned in to listen for a heartbeat. There wasn't any. "He's dead! You killed him!" She looked up to find Joe and Raphael staring at Luc in shock even though both men must have seen their share of the dead. With trembling fingers she brushed strands of brown hair out of his face. She barely met the man, hadn't really talked to him but was attracted to him right away. In her world it was rare to find someone who carried such an air of moral integrity as John did. "You didn't have to…" her voice choked. Watching someone die in her arms was not how she'd expected to pass the afternoon.

Salliery stepped forward as he studied the both of them, his eyes devoid of any feeling. "Don't fret yourself over him, he's not dead."

"There's no heartbeat!" She countered.

Squatting, Salliery took her hand and placed it on the other side of the chest. Beneath the skin of her fingers she could feel a soft pounding.

"He's got two hearts. The gun's on a low setting and I was careful to stop shooting just in time. His body is resilient. He will recover."

Michelle jerked her hand away. "Why? Why put him through this!"

"Because," he stood up again, "I'm not finished with him. Killing him now wouldn't serve my purpose. Costa!"

Timidly, the weapons trader stepped forward.

"Help me pick him up. Remy!"

Michelle looked past Salliery to find Remy staring darkly at Luc. His left eye showed a splendor of coloration, showing her where Salliery had hit him.

"That was foolish of you. And extremely inconvenient," Luc growled.

"I told you when you started this operation, no killings in my house," Remy shot back.

Salliery gauged him silently for a few seconds, as if to ascertain if that was the only reason Remy had attacked him. Michelle didn't understand why the vineyard owner had agreed to work with a man such as Luc anyway. He didn't seem the kind of guy to willingly get involved in this sort of projects.

"All right, everybody" Salliery ordered. "Take a deep breath, we'll be back in a moment.

Michelle, you come with us. I need you to make sure he doesn't die on me."

Reluctantly, Michelle let Costa pry John from her arms. With a heavy heart she stood up to follow them out of the room.

* * *

Rose woke up with a gasp. Soft light and an earthy smell attacked her senses. _Where… What? _With a grunt she stood up. Her skin felt clammy to the touch, and a chilling air froze her to the bone. She eyed the brick wall to her left. A gap just below the ceiling indicated a shoot where she must have slid down. God knew how deep she'd fallen, or for how long she'd been unconscious.

The small brick room she was in only had one excitable feature. A few feet ahead of her, a wide tunnel marked the exit. Willing her sore muscles into motion, she moved forward into the passageway. A power line provided the electricity for light bulbs. They were set at regular intervals along the graceful shapes of the low arched ceiling ahead of her. Iron bar doors lining the walls to either side of her came into view.

Curiously, she peered between the bars into one of the dark cells. Huge round shapes stood on a straw layered floor.

_Wine barrels!_

_All right, I'm in the wine cellar. Makes sense. Now all I have to do is find a way out._ The cells freaked her out. As she passed more of them with each step, one of the Doctor's gruesome stories about how the French used to treat their prisoners jumped to mind. How much despair had these cells held in the past? How many people had died in them?

Hastily, she walked on.

* * *

_How long had he stood there, gripping the TARDIS' door handles behind his back with grief born force? He lowered his head. Firenni was dead, and there was nothing he could do about it. Outside, the beams of the Piranha weapons continued to pound the TARDIS with no effect. The screeching sound penetrating his safe haven, amplifying the loss in his soul. Loneliness and pain crept up on him, unstoppable. _

_Overwhelming. _

With a start The Doctor regained consciousness. Cramps emanated from every muscle in his body. Something pressed against his face; urged him to wake up. Instinctively he resisted_. No, I need to sleep, need the healing coma. _His arms and legs felt heavy, the paralyzing feeling of pins and needles accumulating into sheer agony as he tried to swat the pressure away from his face.

Why did he feel so cold?

Someone took his wrist and held it in place. Fighting the steel grip, he opened his eyes to mere slits. He was lying on his back, with an oxygen mask covering his mouth. The shadow hovering above him released his wrist.

With a low moan he rolled over onto his side. The movement was too much. Fighting down the pain washing over him, he clenched his hands into fists and lost consciousness again.

* * *

The tunnel spilled into a wide space. Rose stopped dead at the site in front of her. Due to her travels with the Doctor, she had seen enough research and development laboratories to know she found herself in one now. Rows of expensive computer systems filled the cellar nicely. Between grant arches and converging power lines, strip lights dipped the huge space in a reddish glow. She gaped at the huge laser-like weapon dominating the center of the cellar.

"Finally, I have access to the power necessary to bring this project to completion," a voice echoed from the far end of the wide space.

Startled, Rose stepped backward into the safety of the dark passageway. Recognizing Salliery's voice she craned her neck to locate him. From the opposite of the cellar she noticed two figures striding toward the large weapon.

"I hope you got what you need," Remy interjected somberly.

"This?" Salliery huffed as both he and Remy walked into clear view. Rose watched from the shadows as Salliery held up something small, then placed it into a base compartment of the huge weapon and turned the on-switch. She nearly jumped out of her skin as the laser suddenly activated. Its tip releasing a thin white beam at the far wall where a vortex started to form.

"This isn't enough. The wormhole is too small." Salliery deduced coldly. "I'm gonna need a lot more power if I want to give the vortex an acceptable width.

"You can't!" Remy sounded with a panicking edge to his voice.

"You're not being disloyal now, are you?"

"You can't take anymore than you already took!"

"He can handle it."

Remy's sigh echoed toward Rose's hiding place. "When you told me you needed an energy source I never thought-"

Salliery rounded on the vineyard owner. "If I hadn't been stuck in this backwater century, which can never produce the power requirements necessary, I wouldn't have to resort to such… drastic measures. You do want us to succeed, don't you?"

"Yes, but-"

After hitting the off-switch, Salliery pulled the object from its compartment. He looked at it entranced. "Time Lord energy," he stated gleefully, "is supposed to be the best power source in the universe. The fact that the vortex generator worked just now proves this."

Rose felt her stomach constricting at hearing those words. Her breath caught in her throat. All this time Salliery had planned on catching the Doctor, and judging by what she heard he had succeeded. She didn't bear think about how they managed to pull that off. Multiple scenarios ran through her head, none of them pleasant, all of them leaving her more furious than before. How much had happened while she'd been out for the count? What had they done to him?" Suppressing the urge to run up to the two men and demand answers, she bit her lip and crept closer to listen.

"Come on. The generator needs a full day to power down and up again." Blissfully unaware of Rose's presence, Salliery slapped Remy on the back, waving the 'battery' in his face. She now saw it was a small bronze object, resembling a gun. "Time to recharge the battery."

With a sinking feeling Rose realized this meant they were going to pay The Doctor a visit again. Vowing that she would stop them, she proceeded to follow as the men made their way out of the main cellar.

* * *

Michelle shot Joe a worried look. "Do you suppose there is any truth to what Salliery was saying?" When they'd finally gotten beneath the mansion, she'd found that a small cell had already been set up with a cot and an oxygen machine. Salliery's cold and calculated preparations send shivers down her spine. "Joe?"

They'd lowered their prisoner down on the cot, a rickety old thing like they used to use in the army. This one didn't came with blankets. After hooking up the oxygen, Salliery had left, claiming he had some business to take care off. Michelle hoped he didn't mean Rose. Costa went upstairs, promising her he would send Joe down to join her.

The heavy iron door had been slid sideways and now Mason leaned broodingly in the doorway. He nodded at the man on the cot. "You saw what that gun did to him," he answered. "It didn't hurt you in the slightest?"

She shook her head, her attention drifting back to the brunet on the cot again. He'd regained consciousness once or twice, but not long enough to ask him questions. "He does not look his age."

Eyeing their prisoner, Joe took a deep breath. "Contrary to what I told Salliery, I _have_ heard of him. If you do the work I do, and you dig deep enough, his name keeps popping up. I hate to admit this, but Luc's right. He's a dangerous man, Michelle. History proofs that."

"He was not the person shooting the guns here, Joe!" She snapped. "If you ask me, Salliery is the one we should look out for." She didn't trust Mason. He was a government agent after all, a job that came with its own secrets. Still, she couldn't help but voice her concern. "I wonder what Luc wants with him, what is he really up to?"

A low voice growled from the cot. "Whatever it is, it's not good." Before Michelle could stop him, her patient removed the oxygen mask and attempted to sit upright.

"You know, you really should not move," she squeaked, startled by his quick recovery, and reached out to help him.

He looked up to give her a thankful smile. "Hello, I'm the Doctor."

"Yes," Joe spoke dryly, crossing his arms. "Yes, we got that."

"And, I don't know how to tell you this, but you're in trouble," the Doctor continued, squinting at Mason."

"Really? How so?" Joe sounded amused.

Michelle couldn't blame him. They weren't the ones locked in a cell right now. The Doctor still looked worse for wear. He kept one arm locked tightly over his stomach as he obviously still hurt, and judging by what Luc told her, Salliery wasn't finished with his prisoner yet.

"Because the only thing Salliery wants is power." The Doctor fixed Michelle with a penetrating glare. His brown eyes briefly filled with swirls of age and wisdom, captivating her. Then it was gone as he gasped at a hidden pain. "He won't stop with me," he spoke after gaining his breath. "He'll continue until he has every man dancing in his footsteps."

"Funny, that's exactly what he said about you," Joe retorted.

"Oh, but I know what I'm doing, he doesn't," The Doctor spoke, anger clear in his voice. "He's not suppose to have the weapons he has now."

"You mean the one he caught you with?" Joe laughed. "Well, I can understand why you would say-"

"No, I don't mean that!" The Doctor snapped. "Although, it is a slight inconvenience, I'll grant you that. No, scratch that, it's positively worrisome, but never mind that, where was I. Oh yes! The weapons." He turned serious again and looked at Joe. "They're from the Fifty-first century, Mason. Think about what will happen if Salliery manages to set up shop here with merchandize like that, hmmm? You saw his little demonstration this afternoon out there on the lawn." He frowned, looking confused. "Was it this afternoon?" Although he tried to hide it, Michelle heard the quiver in his voice, as if it was unusual for him to lose track of time "How long was I out?"

"Only for a few hours. It's late in the evening now," Michelle answered.

"Good, that's… good. I think." Refusing any help, he stood up but fell back against the wall opposite the iron bars. "Where's Rose?"

The worry in his voice didn't escape Michelle. Joe had watched him in silence, obviously trying to gauge the truth in what the Doctor told them. "Okay, as far as we know," he spoke up. "Remy went to look for her. Said he needed to find her before Luc did."

The Doctor nodded, then took a few steps toward the door.

Joe calmly stepped back and slid the door closed. "Sorry, Doc. But you're not going anywhere. Michelle, get over here."

Michelle had trouble keeping up with events. Even after Luc's little demonstration in the garden, she was disinclined to believe the Doctor's explanation. Weapons from the future? Perhaps he was still delirious from his recent fever. Although, when she'd checked his skin temperature after he'd woken up, it had felt normal. _How dangerous are you, really? _Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, she moved out of the small prison. Joe locked the door behind her.

"You don't understand!" The Doctor stood in the middle of the cell, with a slightly wild look in his eyes. "If I don't stop Salliery, this idyllic piece of France is finished! No, forget France, this planet's finished. Gone. Kaput."

From between the bars, Joe gave him an incredulous stare. "Don't be so dramatic, Doctor. We have everything under control."

Far quicker than Michelle had given him credit for, considering he'd just almost been shot to death, the Doctor flew up to the bars and rattled them. "How can you be so _thick_!"

Startled by his sudden aggressiveness, she took a step back, but Joe stood his ground.

"Problems, Gentlemen?" a voice suddenly sounded behind her. She whipped around to find Salliery walking up to them.

XXXXX


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Shrouded in shadows, Rose peered around the corner, her heart freezing at the sight a few feet away from her. She didn't know how long she'd been following Salliery through the dimly lit passageways. The tunnels seemed endless. At one point, she'd lost Remy as he split up from his companion, probably heading upstairs. Ahead of her the passageway ended into one of those dreaded cells. To her horror she found the Doctor standing inside, clutching the bars. Her relief at finding him alive and well didn't wash away her fears at watching Salliery walking over to him.

Michelle and Joe, who'd obviously been warding the prisoner, stepped aside. "I'm surprised to see you up so soon, Doctor." Salliery's voice echoed down the corridor. "I knew Time-Lords had a fast recovery rate, but this is remarkable."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather not do that again, if you don't mind." The Doctor sounded hoarse. Rose's mind raced as she tried to think of a solution. Wanting desperately to get him away from here, it was all she could do to wait for the right opportunity.

"You still don't know who I am, do you?" Salliery asked bemused, stepping closer, and obscuring Rose's view of her friend.

"I have a hunch," she heard him say as he faced up to his captor. "Banana's, lots and lots of banana's," he teased. "Full of proteins, much more productive than a weapons factory, don't you think?"

_Banana groves!__Rose _thought, putting two and two together. The Doctor had once told her he'd replaced a weapons factory with a banana grove. Wasn't that the place where Jack had tried to find batteries for his squareness gun? Jack… who had been from the Fifty-first century as she was now sure Salliery was too. She looked down at the vortex manipulator in her hand. The one she'd found in the wardrobe._ That's what this is all about? Revenge?" _She shook her head. There must be more to it than that.

"Very clever, Doctor. I know you would have worked it out sooner but if I recall you never actually met the owner of the factory you blew up."

Michelle looked at the Doctor, aghast. "You blew up a factory?"

"I had my reasons," the Doctor replied darkly.

"As I have mine for keeping you here," Salliery stated coldly and backed off slightly, enough for Rose to see her friend's face again. "Tell me, how many regenerations have you lost?"

Startled by the question, Rose sucked in her breath. _What the hell does that mean?_

She saw the Doctor letting go of the bars, staring defiantly at his captor but keeping his mouth shut.

"Come on, you can tell me," Salliery pushed. "It's not as if I won't find out anyway."

"None, I lost none," he replied curtly.

"Well… that's lucky, for you and for me I suppose."

"Why?" Joe asked.

"Because it means I can now try this thing on a slightly higher setting," Salliery pulled the small bronze gun she saw earlier from his inside pocket. Rose's eyes flicked at the Doctor, who stood unmoving in his cell.

"Different setting, different results," Salliery explained to Joe as if the Doctor wasn't there. "Setting one just causes a lot of pain, like he's already experienced."

Rose bit her lip to keep herself from shouting out. If only she could be sure Joe and Michelle were on her side. Together they could take Salliery.

"The second setting does the job a bit more thoroughly, and strips him of his remaining lives. The third kills him instantly."

"No reason for that," Joe said, his voice sounding nervous.

"Hasn't he been through enough?" Michelle pitched in. "You got your revenge. Let him go."

"My dear Madam La Beau. It's not just revenge I'm doing this for." He turned back to the Doctor. "Time-Lord energy, that's what I need."

Even from this distance Rose could see the Doctor's eyes widen in revelation. "You can't!" He yelled, gripping onto the bars again.

"I'm sorry, Doctor. But-" Joe began.

"You'll never be able to handle it!" The Doctor shouted frantically, telling Rose it wasn't himself he was worried about. "It'll rip the entire-"

Salliery coldly fired the gun. The white light emanating from the weapon threw the Doctor backward, slammed him against the back wall with force.

Rose's scream drowned in the unexpected high-pitched whine. Someone clamped a hand over her mouth. Panicking, she turned to find Remy standing over her.

"Not now," he whispered. "If you go to him now, Salliery will use you to get to him."

"I don't care! I have to-"

Salliery clamped her mouth shut again. "You can watch," he said. "But you can't interfere. "Not yet."

Rose started to fight, but Remy had her in a tight grip. Powerlessly she watched as the Doctor sat on the ground, gritting his teeth together, still managing to award Salliery with a killing glare. Then he cringed with pain and cried out.

Tears filled her eyes. She watched Joe and Michelle who stood frozen. _Do something! _Her mind shouted at them. _He's dying and you're just… standing there!"_ A sob escaped her throat as the Doctor screamed again.

* * *

The high pitched whine of the gun seemed to increase as Salliery took a step closer. Rose desperately fought to free herself. She tasted blood and realized she'd bitten the hand covering her mouth, causing Remy to hiss with pain and locking his grip even tighter. Her heart cried out every time she heard the Doctor scream.

Michelle suddenly moved. In one flowing motion she grabbed the key from Joe's hand, unlocked the cell door and crouched in front of the Doctor, causing the deadly beam to bounce harmlessly off of her back.

Salliery stopped firing.

In the resulting silence, the Doctor's ragged breathing sounded all the more pronounced. The rustle of straw accompanied his frantic gasps for air as he attempted to push himself in a sitting position up against the wall. Michelle's attempts to help him were met with a hoarse ''S 'okay,' which Rose was sure he wasn't. Shaking with worry and anger, she watched Salliery tucking the gun away.

"Very well, Doctor," their adversary spoke grudgingly. "You're lucky Michelle's such a caring person." His voice turned threatening. "Although if I were her, I would think very carefully whose side she's on."

Michelle looked over her shoulder and Rose read a quiet determination in her eyes. "Whatever did he do to you for you to treat him like this?" She flung at him.

Salliery stiffened at her words. For a second Rose thought he would march over and manhandle her upright. He turned to Joe instead. "Get her out of there," he ordered, "I want you two upstairs in five minutes." He walked away.

"We can't leave him like this!" Michelle shouted indignantly, but Joe already pulled her up.

Close to Rose's position, Salliery turned. "Until you've got a grasp of the bigger picture, Ms. La Beau, I suggest you do as I say."

Obviously figuring that she was in over her head, Michelle took one last look at the Doctor. Joe nodded at her, telling the French woman it was all right. They didn't put the slumped figure back on the cot but left him lying on the floor. Rose fumed at their decision as Joe motioned Michelle out of the cell and locked the door behind them.

Abruptly, Remy dragged her behind a huge barrel to let them pass unnoticed.

Rose gripped her restrainer's arm, feeling her fingers digging deep into his as they hid in the shadows. Then the lights turned off, drenching her in pitch-black darkness. The sound of footsteps disappeared, and Rose felt Remy relaxing. With a cry she yanked herself free.

He let her go.

* * *

With one hand clenched over his chest and the other placed on the stone wall for support, The Doctor knew he was in bad shape. Every move caused agonizing pain. Grunting he attempted to stay conscious. If he fell asleep now, he wasn't sure he'd wake up. Icy lances of cold seeped through the damp floor into his body. He was shivering uncontrollably in an attempt to stay warm.

"Doctor!"

Weak light trickled from a small ceiling high thin window at the back of the cell, allowing him to discern the shape of his companion through watery eyes. "Rose?" By Rasillion, was he glad to see her.

"Yeah, I'm here, and I'm gonna get you out of there. You just hold on Mister." She rattled the door, but the Doctor already knew it was locked. She couldn't get in. "Open the door!"

He winced at her sharp shouting.

"I can't, Joe's got the key," Remy's voice entered his fogged mind.

"You're the bloody owner of this place, you must have a spare somewhere!"

The sudden silence told the Doctor Remy was struggling with the decision to help her. He could only think of one reason why the vineyard owner hesitated because the man must have figured out who he was by now.

"I'll see what I can find," Remy sounded, causing Rose to sigh with relief. The vineyard owner disappeared in the passageway.

"Doctor?" Rose turned back, and squatted. Her hands locking on the thick bars, frustration and worry colored her words.

_She's such a tactile person._ The Doctor thought grimly._ Always needs to touch, to see, to feel._ That was one of the reasons he'd taken her with him in the first place. All those brand new worlds made her feel so alive. Unable to reach out now was hard on her... and he had to admit on him too. He straightened a bit. "Rose, listen to me."

"I will the moment you get back on that cot."

He took a deep breath, taking in those beautiful eyes full of concern. "Well… I would do that… for you, off course… but well… I can't." _Don't push this time, Rose… I just can't._

She seemed to have read his mind. "Did Michelle stop Salliery in time?" She asked softly.

"Depends," he whispered, not wanting to admit how much Salliery had taken. He felt so nauseous, so bloody nauseous. He swallowed a couple of times, fighting to keep his lunch inside.

"On?"

_On whether or not a healing coma is going to be enough, _he thought, but shook his head instead. "I don't know."

In the dim light he could see Rose frown.

"You were right." He quickly hissed, feeling drained. "The scent of the lavender, Rose. Luscious but lethal… to me."

"He sat a trap." The bitterness in her voice surprised him. She looked around. "There's no flowers here now, Doctor. Can you at least get the oxygen mask?"

He smiled inwardly at the hopeful tone. Grunting he reached out for the mask lying on the floor. Slowly, keeping back moans of pain, he placed the mask over his mouth, instantly feeling better. Too tired to secure it, he dropped the device after a few deep breaths. "Rose, you have to stop him."

"I'm not going anywhere until I get you out."

"You don't understand," he winced. "He did it before, powered an entire weapon factory by using tectonic energy. He created earthquakes Rose, just to get what he wanted. So, I blew up the generator."

"And turned the place into a grove, I know," Rose finished.

The Doctor grinned half-heartedly, then shifted slightly, aware that his legs had gone numb with cold. His eyes fell shut.

"I found a generator in the main cellar," Rose offered him, obviously in an attempt to keep him awake. "It was sort of a laser like object. Created a small wormhole, a vortex, that's what you call it, yeah?"

He nodded without opening his eyes. "Creating a vortex, even a small one takes tremendous… huge… absurd amounts of energy. He probably linked it to his own century, so he can travel… back and forth more easily."

"The fifty first century?"

"Yeah," he took a few breaths from the oxygen mask again.

"Why doesn't he just use this?"

The Doctor peered through heavy eyelids at the vortex manipulator in her hand. "Because that thing only caries a limited amount of mass, and he needs supplies… Lots of 'em. Rose," he emphasized hoarsely. "He'll never be able to stabilize the vortex… half of Europe can get sucked in if you don't stop him."

"I'm NOT going to leave you."

"Rose."

"Forget it! We'll stop him, yeah. But they said it'd take the generator a day to start up again. So there's plenty of time."

"Oh, well, in that case…" He sagged against the wall. "Got any banana's?"

XXXXX


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

_I need more, lots and lots more._ Salliery stared at the small screen just above the huge generator's base compartment. The power bar rose until it reached twenty five percent. He needed at least eighty.

"You have to give him time to recover," Remy sounded behind him.

Salliery yanked the piranha gun out of its socket. The power bar dropped to zero. "Recovery… yes." Staring into the depths of the main cellar, he mulled things over."It's not what I had in mind, but it might just get me the energy I need," he muttered and turned, throwing the small weapon at the vineyard owner. "You can do the honors." He smiled, as Remy's face became unreadable. "Just be sure to stop in time," he spoke, enjoying the man's obvious inner struggle. "We wouldn't want to kill him, now do we?"

* * *

"Doctor?" Rose watched him worriedly when the Doctor closed his eyes. _Keep talking. _He'd said, but for once she found herself short of words. At times like these, she wished her mother were here. She could keep talking during an entire air raid, she could.

He opened his eyes, giving her a thin reassuring smile. "I was just… looking for the TARDIS."

"Is it still there?" She asked, hating how small the question sounded. She'd never understood the nature of his telepathic link with his ship but knew their predicament was a lot worse if it was gone.

To her relief he nodded. "Yeah… weak… but there. It's okay… don't worry."

She was about to give an angry retort, but the Doctor seemed to have read her face. "Right, sorry. Stupid thing to say." He grimaced at her. "I meant to say…" A shiver racked his voice and he straightened a bit against the blackened wall. "Salliery stopped firing in time… probably."

That wasn't very comforting. "But he came close?"

"Too close."

The Doctor's confession frightened her. Normally, he wouldn't have told her that. Which reminded her of his silence earlier on in their room. "Tell me 'bout it. About the gun. You've seen it before, right?"

He grimaced at her, trying to divert the subject. "Rose."

She kept her eyes fixed on his. _Keep you talking, yeah?_

"Oh… Okay. Might as well… yes… there was this… planet." He broke eye contact and stared at the ceiling. Taking a deep breath, he fell quiet for a while. Rose heard more than physical pain in his voice when he spoke again. "After the Time War… I searched… I looked… for my people." He bit his lip. "There was this tiny little world… vicious occupants, higher beings who'd destroyed Firenni's TARDIS and kept him in stasis, which in hindsight saved his life, I suppose."

"Firenni's another Time Lord?"

The Doctor nodded, staring right through her as past events obviously played before his inner mind's eye. "Friend of mine. The only one… I could find. The last… him and me. I tried to get him out."

"What happened?"

He looked up, acknowledging her presence again. "The planet was a mess. Wracked by the Time War. When I helped Firenni escape…" He shook his head. "They had weapons, like the one Salliery has. Piranha guns… only much more sophisticated… capable of killing the ones who'd destroyed…" He grit his teeth and sucked in his breath at an obvious bout of pain. "… Who'd destroyed their beautiful world." He fell silent. "I tried Rose, I really tried."

Swallowing the lump rising in her throat, she filled in the blanks quite easily. "At least you got away." She said, knowing how hollow those words sounded.

"Barely." Pulling his legs beneath him, the Doctor pushed himself upward and stumbled toward her.

Rose -glad to see he felt good enough to move around- stood up and reached out. As he leaned forward against the iron bars, she was startled to find his cheek was stone cold to the touch. He grabbed her hand and held it briefly, then moved away, letting her go.

She eyed him with unease, as he sat down on the cot. Even taking into account his regular lower body temperature, he shouldn't be this devoid of warmth. She would have given him her jacket, had she worn any. _I wish Remy hurried up with that key. _

"Rose?" A hand touched her shoulder.

She looked up to find Remy standing behind her. Her rush of relief didn't last long. Costa stood beside him, grabbed her other shoulder and pulled her backward.

"What? No!" She yelled.

"I'm sorry, Rose," Remy sounded strangely cool. "But I have no choice. This has to be done."

* * *

"Let her go!" The Doctor yelled at the broad Spaniard who forcefully dragged Rose away from him. He'd felt gradually more energized these last minutes but knew better than to throw himself at the bars. It was all he could do to sit up and glare furiously at the two men.

For a second the Doctor saw sorrow flashing in Remy's eyes, then it was gone. The guy's voice turned threatening. "I will. Once you told me what I want to know."

"You never used to be like this, what happened to you?" The Doctor bit between his teeth at the vineyard owner while clamping one arm tight on his stomach. As the numbness had left his body, pain had returned full force. But he could handle that. At least he was able to move again. He noted Costa raising an eyebrow at the implications of his words. _Yeah. You didn't tell them we met before. Well… they know now, _he thought harshly.

"People change Doctor, especially when they have little choice. You should know all about that."

"Don't listen to him, Doctor! Don't-" Rose whimpered as Costa locked her arm tight behind her and covered her mouth with his free hand.

Forcing his attention away from his companion, the Doctor aimed his anger at his erstwhile acquaintance. "Trust me Remy, you _don't _want to make me mad," he hissed, pleased to see fear surfacing on the vineyard owner's face. After all, the man knew quite well what he was capable off. His first visit to this place had made sure of that.

Contrary to his softening expression, Remy's voice grew colder. "Just tell me how many regenerations you have left."

The Doctor glared at him. "I already told Salliery I lost none. Nothing's changed."

"That's not what I asked." Remy stepped up against the iron bars. "I want to know how many lives you have left."

"Why?" Uncertainty crept into his voice. Up till this moment he'd been sure Remy couldn't hurt Rose but looking at him now, certain pieces of the puzzle started to click. _Oh… this is not good._

"You don't want Raphael over there to break her arm, do you?"

The Doctor let his gaze flick to Rose, her eyes telling him he better not give in. He looked back at Remy.

"Just tell me, Doctor."

"Three," he relented.

Remy nodded. "I'll know soon enough if you're lying." His hand reached for a familiar object tucked in the front of his trousers.

The Doctor felt his heart sink into his stomach but was careful not to show his distress. He knew that from her vantage point, Rose couldn't see the Piranha gun. He lowered his voice so only Remy could hear him. "How far will you go?" he asked steely.

The vineyard owner paused and looked at him. "I need all of them," he spoke as a matter of fact.

Silence passed between them as their eyes met. A fleeting look of compassion fluttered across Remy's features. The Doctor locked onto it and spoke softly. "_Don't _let her watch." He held the man's gaze. "Please," he added in a final plea.

The vineyard owner thought it over before giving his consent. "At least that's one thing I can do for you." He turned. "Costa. Take Rose upstairs and don't let her out of your sight."

"NO! YOU CAN'T!" Rose screamed as Costa removed his hand to drag her down the passageway. Her despair rocked the Doctor to his core, because he knew his friend wasn't fooled. He'd sent her away and she knew it. With a vicious kick she managed to break free, but Costa grabbed onto her before she could take two steps. "NO!" She cried. "DON'T HURT HIM! REMY, YOU CAN'T-! Her cries were abruptly caught off as the Spaniard pulled her behind a door. It closed with a bang.

"You don't have to do this," the Doctor spoke hoarsely. "It's not very civil to shoot an unarmed man."

Remy pulled out the gun. "You know as well as I do that I'm out of options."

Forcing him to listen, the Doctor's voice turned hard. "Where did they take her, Remy."

The vineyard owner hesitated. "Take who?"

"Your wife," he answered mercilessly. "What did Salliery do with her? Did he threaten to kill her, hm? Threatened that you'll never see her again if you don't do his bidding? Blackmail?"

"You don't understand Doctor, it's more complicated than that," Remy spoke, obviously trying to avoid the subject. His shoulders drooped as he nervously rubbed the gun.

"Complicated enough to betray your friends?" The Doctor bit at him, hiding his fear with skill. "Complicated enough to turn into a killer!?"

"Josephine became ill!" The slumped man in front of him suddenly yelled. "Cancer! It happened right after you left! There are no cures for this type, not in this century!"

The Doctor nodded in understanding, his voice lowering. "So he promised you medicines from his own time, cure your wife if you help him to open the vortex?"

"Yes."

"He can't control it, you know. Time Lord Energy. It'll be too strong for him to handle," he stated bitterly.

The gun started to shake in Remy's hands as uncertainty rose alongside a sudden sliver of hope behind blue eyes.

The Doctor picked up on it. _No, I can't help her. _He didn't dare do so. With his time sense all screwed up he was unable to foresee the amount of damage it would cause to the time-line. He glared at the vineyard owner with a mixture of regret and resignation, knowing he couldn't pay the prize Remy asked for.

The Frenchman interpreted the silence correctly and visibly pulled himself together. "I'll do anything to save her, Doctor," his voice turned soft. "Anything."

The Doctor stared at him, feeling both appalled and wonderment at what Remy was about to do for his wife. Humans never ceased to amaze him. _Rose… Would I do the same for her? Destroy a planet, a sun?_

Remy took a step forward and aimed. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah… I'm sorry too," The Doctor spoke huskily and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

XXXXX


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"So, we have an agreement?" Salliery emphasized. "I can't do this without your help. I need your government network, Joe," he paced the drawing room. "And your business contacts, Michelle. I promise you, you'll be well rewarded." He stopped to look at them. "Costa has already agreed to provide the distribution."

"Yes, I bet he has," Joe smiled grimly, watching Michelle sitting next to him from the corner of his eyes. "And you'll minimize the costs?"

Salliery gave him a stern look. "Just the Doctor," he said as if talking about a thing instead of a living, breathing person.

Michelle looked briefly horrified before stiffly nodding her consent. Just like Salliery, Joe was beginning to have his suspicions about her. A sudden ringing made him reach for his cell phone. "Yeah," he answered, listening to the voice on the other end.

Luc looked annoyed at the interruption but let him talk.

"Alright, thank you." Joe pressed the off button and fixed Salliery with a stare. "Very well, I'm in."

* * *

Glancing at Joe, who sat back to sip a glass of whine, Michelle doubted she made the right decision to join this crazy experiment. However, she was sure Salliery, who'd left the room to attend to business, wouldn't hesitate to get rid of her had she refused.

Getting out of this alive was all that mattered now.

A muffled scream and a sharp yell of pain made her look up. Costa slammed the door inward, pulling in a bedraggled Rose. He flung the struggling blonde across the room. Rose stumbled, barely managing to keep from colliding into them.

Michelle gasped at the state the girl was in. Disheveled clothing made it clear she'd put up quite a fight, smears of run mascara had left black streaks on red cheeks, and watery eyes spoke of a fury seeded by an unimaginable panic.

"NO!" Rose's raw scream tore through Michelle like a knife through butter. The girl stormed back to the door but Costa stopped her, motioning to Joe for help. Before Mason managed to restrain her, however, she gave Raphael a vicious knock to his chest.

Finally, Joe had her secure enough for Costa to let go. "Make sure she doesn't leave the room until Remy comes back up," he wheezed. "I gotta get down to check up on him."

Michelle had slammed a hand across her mouth as Joe nodded. With his free hand he locked the door after Costa left, then seemed glad to loosen his grip on the girl.

Rose immediately went for the door knob, screaming in panic when it wouldn't give. "Let me out! Let me out!"

Touched deeply by the upset cries, Michelle couldn't help but run over and rub the girl's back, trying to calm her down.

Unexpectedly Rose flinched, immediately drawing away from her. "You just stood there!" She accused, eyes flicking back and forth from her to Joe. "An' you didn't do a thing to help him! And now you let Remy-" Her voice caught. "LET ME OUT!"

Guilt hit Michelle hard. She shook her head in denial. "I thought Salliery would leave him alone for a while," she whispered.

"Well, he's not! He's-" Rose choked and turned to start pounding the door again.

"Joe, for God's sake," Michelle spoke hoarsely, she looked over her shoulder at Mason whose expression was remarkably calm. "Let her go."

Rose stopped pounding. "What?"

Michelle leaned in, careful as to not to push her away again. "Rose… I didn't know. I'm sorry... I thought Salliery would give him more time to recover. If I'd known…"

She had waited for a snarl of anger, some harsh words, perhaps an opening to get Rose to listen. What she hadn't expected was the girls pupils dilating in sheer panic.

"No, no, no, NO!" Rose yelled. She let out a soft sob and hit the door with a loud bang, hard enough to shake the books on their shelves. "NO!"

Taken aback by the girl's reaction, Michelle took a step forward. "What's wrong…?"

But Rose kept banging the door, until tears streamed down her face and the wood actually started to give. Frozen at the sight, Michelle gasped, then resolutely took hold of the girl's fists. Utterly spent, Rose sank down on the floor where she whispered a few words. The girl looked up, her eyes a pool of grief. "You're talkin' French."

"Of course I am, I usually do." Michelle spoke bewildered. "Because I thought you understood my language," she tried again in English, not seeing what this had to do with anything.

"But I'm not," Rose spoke softly. "It's translated. All the time, in my head, all languages sound English. As long as the Doctor's not-" Her voice cracked, her eyes betraying how frightened she was. And now it's not… not anymore."

Michelle stared at her. The meaning of her words slowly beginning to sink in.

* * *

When Costa returned and finally allowed Rose to go downstairs, Michelle and Joe followed her on her heals.

The cellars were cold.

With trepidation Rose followed Raphael Costa toward the Doctor's cell where he left them. She froze at the still form lying on the cot. The door was slightly ajar and Remy stood inside. Rose passed him without a word and sank down near her friend.

The Doctor looked so pale. She touched his cheek, his skin feeling like ice beneath her fingers. Shaking, she lowered her head on his chest, desperately listening for the heartbeats. There it was… oh so soft between long intervals. Choking back her relief she ignored her silent audience and reached for the oxygen mask, conveying to them he was still alive. While gently putting the mask over his mouth, she raked a hand through his hair and fastened the strap around his head, wishing his eyes would open. But he lay unmoving as if peacefully asleep.

Rose looked up to find Remy nearby. "Get out," she whispered. "Just… get out."

Michelle's soft words echoed through the arched corridor. "Go on. I will stay with her." She moved forward, staying just outside the cell, but close enough for Rose to see her worried expression.

Joe nodded, slid the door closed and locked it. Silently, he left with Remy.

Staring back at the Doctor, Rose grabbed his hand. "He's strong," she couldn't help but whisper to convince herself.

"Will he make it?" Michelle's concerned voice rattled her slightly.

"If you only knew him… he's not just the danger you all pretend him to be. He cares… he really cares… for this planet an' its stupid inhabitants who keep on causing him pain. An' he just send me away, didn't want me to see, didn't want me to-" Tears welled up again, but she angrily wiped them away.

There was a short silence before Michelle spoke softly again. "He cares for you."

"Yeah, imagine that, a simple human girl." She looked up at the French woman. _You sound like you care, so how 'bout you help us, instead of just…standing there! Again!_ "He's all alone, Michelle. There's no one else… no planet, no people… not anymore… On his own, trying to save this planet again and again… So yeah, I travel with him, I love him, because he shows more humanity than anyone I've encountered so far." She suddenly felt a slight squeeze, and her attention snapped back to the Doctor.

"What do you mean, alone?" Michelle asked aghast.

Rose placed a hand on her friend's cheek, to her surprise he felt warm again, too warm. Sweat trickled of his brow and he started shivering. _Just like after he regenerated. _"He's the last of his kind," she spoke off hand, ignoring Michelle's gasp at this revelation while removing the mask because he attempted to swat it off. Soft, short moaning escaped the Doctor's lips, within minutes his temperature soared, fever running rampant in his body. "Get me a wet towel or something, anything," Rose ordered the shocked looking women. "Hurry up!"

Michelle's eyes snapped from the Doctor to her. "Yes, of course. I will… yes." She walked off to find the requested item.

"Hang on, Doctor. I'll get you out of here," Rose whispered. Until Michelle returned there wasn't much more she could do except keep him company. Not that she counted on the French woman to return. Like Remy, she'd probably went to cover her own hide. _I shouldn't have trusted him… but I thought-"_

"Rose," The Doctor spoke softly.

Anger and sadness at the vineyard owner's actions fled in the wake of worry and compassion. The Doctor hadn't opened his eyes but did regain consciousness. She squeezed his hand, feeling the warmth burning beneath his skin. "I'm here, Doctor."

He swallowed a couple of times, lips dry with fever and dehydration. "I feel… awful," he whispered.

"You're running a temperature. Try to keep still…"

His eyelids fluttered. Groaning, he suddenly flung to the side and dropped the entire contents of his stomach on the floor. "Sorry."

"It's okay, I'll get it." She stood up to grab a hand full of the little straw draping a corner and wiped the floor clean. After throwing it to the side she sat down again. The Doctor squinted at her through reddish eyelids. She tried to smile, but didn't quite succeed.

"Rose, I need the TARDIS," he whispered.

"That bad?"

A curt nod was all he could manage.

Rose took a deep breath, frustration soaring again. _How the hell am I going to take him back to the ship when I can't even get him out of this cell? _"She's still there? The TARDIS I mean?"

To her relief he nodded a short affirmative. "I lost… the link … for a while, but … she's back. She's…" He hesitated, the corner of his lip quirking slightly as he raised an eyebrow. "She's angry… at Salliery?" His pain filled whisper actually sounded amused. "O-h she's so angry."

Rose spoke, her tone serious. "She's not the only one."

* * *

Sinking down on the drawing room's couch, Remy lowered his head in his hands, unable to forget the look on the Doctor's face when he took the Time-Lord's first life, or the second, and the third.

"Remy." Mason shook him out of his thoughts. "We've got her, she's safe."

"What?" He didn't understand.

"I just got a phone call," Joe spoke quietly. We've broken Salliery's stronghold in Paris and have taken your wife to a secure facility."

"W… What?" he stammered. "But… But she's ill. Salliery was my only hope!"

"She's being treated as we speak," Mason reassured him. "Trust me when I say that we have our own medical resources."

A weight he didn't know he was carrying dropped off his shoulders. The vineyard owner looked at Joe in gratitude. "What about the Doctor?"

"What about him?"

"Can't we help him?"

Joe straightened. "Understand this." He sounded deadly serious. "I _can't_ let Salliery build a vortex generator in the middle of France. But when I get the chance I _can_ and will eliminate someone as dangerous as the Doctor. My organization has tried for years to get their hands on him, and it looks like we're finally succeeding."

Remy quickly nodded, careful to keep his expression blank. "Who are you working for, anyway?"

"You can call us Torchwood, Remy. That's all you need to know."

XXXXX


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Here," Michelle handed Rose a cloth. "I found it near some of the barrels, I couldn't find any water so I used wine instead. Not the house wine, though," she quickly added. "I made sure of that."

Rose stiffened. _The house wine? Oh God, Salliery even poisoned the wine?_ The look the Doctor gave her told her he'd wanted to keep that from her.She took the cool cloth from Michelle's hands to drab it over the Doctor's forehead. "Your temperature is rising too fast," she commented.

"I know," he sounded softly. "It's because…" He hesitated again.

Rose stopped her ministrations. "What, Doctor?"

He squinted in agony, but managed to pull himself upward, looking at her with eyes a pool of intensive worry. And then she saw it. The fear underneath, which he'd tried to so hard to hide from her.

"He took it all, Rose," he hissed. "Everything… All I had."

"Which means what, exactly?" Rose asked, tepidly, obviously already knowing the answer.

"I can't…" He breathed in sharply, closing his eyes. When the pain seemed to have subsided, he grabbed onto Rose's hand, looking at her with sharp intensity. "I have no… reserves left. No regenerations, nothing, no … energy… not even to… heal myself."

Rose stared at him, wordlessly clutching the Doctor's hand as tight as he gripped hers.

As they sat in silence, she ignored Michelle's small gasp. Apparently the scene didn't leave the French women totally unaffected. _Good, it shouldn't. Cos if he dies… _She couldn't finish her thoughts. Blinking away sudden tears she refused to accept the implication of his words. "We get you to the TARDIS, yeah?" she started rambling. "She can help, like you said. Put you in stasis or something."

"Rose," the Doctor spoke calmly.

Oh, she knew what he was telling her, but they were clever, they would think of something. "Until you get your strength back. One life's good enough for me," she gave a weak grin.

"Rose."

His calm voice shattered her carefully constructed optimism. "No! I won't have you give up on this, not now!"

"Who's giving up? It's just that… The TARDIS could put me into stasis, yes." He took a deep breath and looked at her intensely. "But she _can't_ help me recover. Never, ever. Look, when you're sick you divert part of your energy to the healing process. The TARDIS needs something to start with, and there's nothing left. That's why they call it a Piranha gun. It keeps eating… keeps me _bleeding_," he emphasized, closing a hand into a fist.

_Even after it's been fired? _This was hard on him, she could tell. _Making sure you don't regenerate, don't heal…_She tasted bitter bile at the tenacity of this weapon. Her face fell and she had to work hard to keep it blank and keep the tears from welling up. _It'll kill you. How could Remy do this to him! _Then again, the vineyard owner might not have known about the continuous energy drain and genuinely thought he'd stopped firing in time.

The Doctor kept quiet, clearly reading comprehension in her eyes.

"There has to be something you can do," she spoke softly.

"There is." He spoke between clattering teeth. 'I'm doing it. I quickened my metabolism, hence the fever. It fights the… drain, keeps me awake..." He swallowed. "I can hold out for a while, don't worry."

Underneath her fingers, she felt him shiver. Just as his skin, his eyes, usually a deep earthy brown color had paled considerably; as strong as he sounded, Rose could read the uncertainty in them, telling her he'd softened the truth.

"But the TARDIS, you said you needed her?"

"To take out the generator."

Rose fell quiet. She shook her head. "No, there has to be another solution. Maybe I can get the gun, and you can reverse the process."

He studied at her. "That won't work. It's a weapon, it doesn't have a reverse. But…" He stopped, looking away in thought.

Rose waited, desperately grasping onto the sliver of hope his silence offered her.

"Yesss!" he suddenly exclaimed, startling her. "Rose, you're a genius."

Even though her concern soared, because he clearly didn't act as energetic as he usually did with an apparent revelation such as this, her weak smile was genuine.

"It's dangerous though. But if I'm lucky… if I'm very, very lucky…" He suddenly snapped his hand back, cringing with pain. Rose reached out, but he lifted the same hand, telling her to give him time. "You'll have to get me to the generator, Rose," he hissed, eyes closed. "Get me out of this cell."

Before she could even begin to address the problem of doing just that, Michelle's soft voice drew her attention.

"Maybe this can help?"

Rose turned to find her holding out the familiar metal shape of the sonic screwdriver.

"I should have done this…" The French woman's voice quivered in hesitation. "I found it on the floor in the drawing room. Take it."

"Seen the light, have you?" The Doctor spoke, pain clear in his voice as he attempted to move. "Having a change of heart? Trying to make amends?" Rose helped him put his legs on the ground and pulled him into a sitting position. The Doctor glared at Michelle. More than anything, his tiredness scared her. Was it Rose's imagination? Or had his eyes paled some more?

"I have seen enough to have made up my mind, Doctor," Michelle answered, her voice steadying as Rose took the screwdriver out of her hands and started fiddling with the settings. "I am only sorry I did not listen to you sooner."

Lifting the screwdriver, Rose aimed it at the iron key hole. With a soft click, the door unlocked, sliding partly open.

* * *

Trembling a little with excitement, Salliery watched the power bar above the generator's base compartment rising.

"This had better work, Luc," Costa remarked, standing by him. "It's all the Doctor has to offer. We drained him dry."

Salliery smiled grimly as the indicator screen reached seventy five percent. He tweaked a small button, causing the power level to rise some more.

* * *

Supported by Rose, the Doctor focused on the dark damp corridor before him. The cold air and earthy smell reminded him of Rome's catacombs in which he'd once had the misfortune to find himself in.

He could tell Rose wasn't fooled with his 'I can keep going for a while' by the way she held on to him; one hand tightly around his back and the other holding his hand that he'd draped over her shoulders. Michelle checked out the corners ahead, making sure they wouldn't run into anybody unexpectedly.

"Doctor?" Rose spoke in his ear, straining to keep him upward. "This fever… is it dangerous?"

The Doctor bit his lip. _Should've known it wouldn't take you long to work that out_. The thing about speeding up his metabolism… Yes, it caused a fever. Which, when you're a human, is all very nice and good, because your body wants to get rid of nasty viruses and such. But being a Time Lord, his body coped with viruses in an entire different way, it didn't need to raise his temperature, kept his body heat quite steady, actually, even under freezing or desert conditions. Having a real fever was rare, and thus very dangerous, because it often lead to heart failure and respiratory problems. He glanced at her. "Just don't let me fall… asleep," he replied hoarsely. "That would be bad."

"Unconscious you mean? Like when you regenerated? You had a fever then."

"Yeah." _Difference is… I had reserves then... plenty of regenerative residue, unlike now. _He could feel the energy draining out of him. But if he gave in to the drowsiness, he'd slip into a healing coma from which he wouldn't wake up. Shivers racked his body, inflaming his nausea and headache.

He was quickly becoming exhausted.

Michelle returned, thankfully breaking up their conversation. "The main cellar is around the next corner," she whispered. "Luc's inside, as is Costa."

"We'll need to distract them," Rose opted. "Lure them away so you," she tugged at his hand, "can access the generator."

"Great plan," The Doctor smiled. "Rose, just act… French… you know… bit of flirting… bit of… showing your b-"

"Oi!" Rose withdrew the hand wrapped around his waist. He staggered, but she quickly caught him on his other arm, careful not to let him drop. "You just wait here, mister." She ordered, the twinkle in her eyes not fully washing away her obvious worry as she moved him closer to the wall.

"Best behaviour," he wheezed innocently. "I was going to say 'best behaviour."

"Sure you were." Rose let him go gently.

Standing unsteady against the wall and the support which held an arch aloft overhead, the Doctor repressed the sudden urge to sit down.

"Do something for me?" She whispered, her voice clearing his fogged mind.

He looked at her through heavy eyelids wet with fever, sweat plastering his hair to his forehead.

She put a warm hand on his glowing cheek. "Stay awake?"

He nodded curtly, then she was gone.

XXXXX


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Rose wasn't sure if she was shivering badly from the cold or from her worry for the Doctor. She hated seeing him this vulnerable, this scared, because she'd full well noticed the soft rising panic whirling underneath that bravado of his. She had to believe this plan of his could work, she needed the hope, needed its strength to keep her steady as she stepped forward next to Michelle.

Salliery's angry voice reverberated through the main cellar. "Seventy eight percent!" He let out a deep breath. "But," He pulled a lever and the hum died down. "There's one person who just might get us that extra two percent." He whipped around. "Isn't that right, Rose?"

Rose froze on the spot, fighting the urge to flinch beneath his rock hard stare. Her throat closed and she had to force the words out. "What do you want?"

Michelle locked her hand on Rose's arm. "I'm sorry, Luc," she spoke, sounding sincere. "But she insisted on talking to you."

For a moment Rose doubted if the French woman was still on her side. She tried to ignore the pain caused by Michelle's tightening grip.

"What I want," Salliery walked forward and grabbed her chin. "Is enough power to open the vortex." It wasn't a request, just a simple statement. "I want his ship."

A lump of intense cold settled in Rose's stomach. "Wouldn't do you any good. You can't fly it."

"Ah, yes." Salliery let her go and strolled back toward the generator. He reached for the piranha gun locked in its compartment and threw it to Costa. "I know you'll need a Time Lord to handle it." He paused, then covered the distance between them and leaned in, his breath wafting in her face. "And no matter how stubborn and strong minded you believe your precious Doctor is, I_ can_ threaten him into doing so."

If he meant to scare her, it worked. Rose shivered, quelling the unwanted doom scenarios flashing across her inner mind's eye.

Salliery straightened. "But that would mean putting him in charge of the flight plan on a ship he knows like the back of his hand. I can't risk that." He grimaced. "I can however, use its power, its link to the vortex." He spoke harshly. "If I'm right, his ship trusts you. It will let you gain access to its heart."

Rose stared at him, her surprise at Salliery's knowledge that the TARDIS was alive diminished by the audacity of his plan. "You think you can control the heart of a TARDIS?" She nearly choked on a laugh.

"You sound like someone who knows what she's talking about," Salliery retorted.

Costa looked from one to the other, his look of confusion growing. "What is she talking about boss?"

"His ship, The TARDIS, it travels inside the vortex. Ah, if only I could fly it, then the generator would become obsolete. But since that's not an option," his voice lowered, "I guess ripping out its innards will have to do."

Inside, Rose felt something stir. An angry howl… the big bad wolf, a power strong enough to swat the man in front with a flick of her wrist. It only lasted a second, but in that moment she knew the TARDIS would never allow Salliery anywhere near the console, let alone her heart. Still, if there was one thing she'd learned, it was not to underestimate this man. He had after all almost killed the Doctor single-handedly. And if she didn't hurry, Salliery might still succeed in doing that. But could she really hand over the TARDIS? Even if it was just for show?

"Think about it Rose," Salliery spoke. "It's either that or-"

"Or we're going to have to squeeze your Doctor for every drop." Costa interrupted gleefully, waving the piranha gun in her face. "Believe me, his death won't be pretty."

Even though their plans played exactly into Rose's hand to lure them away from the generator, Costa's emotionless eyes at the anticipation of killing the Doctor caused bile to rise up in her throat. Reluctantly, she nodded. "Provided you leave 'im alone, yeah?"

Slowly, Salliery nodded his assent.

* * *

Impulsive, beautiful Rose. Still, the Doctor felt a pang of worry at her agreeing to Salliery's plans, at the danger she was now in, and at the thought of Luc getting his hands on his ship. However unlikely that was. He sank back against the wall, feeling so damn tired. It bothered him that the TARDIS' whispers became ever fainter. It was getting hard to think. He'd lived for so long, maybe it was time to let go. _Rose…I can't leave her like this…_. But he was so tired. He closed his eyes.

Giving in for just a second.

A hard mental shove made him jerk upright just as he drowsily started sliding down the wall. Grabbing the archway's support pillar on his right he grinded his teeth and pulled himself up against the rough stone. "That was uncalled for!" He whispered between clattering teeth at his ship's incandescent but clearly upset murmur in his head. _I was not giving up. _His chest suddenly felt like it was going to explode. He gaped for breath, wheezing as he realized with a pang of fear that his respiratory bypass system had stopped working.

Before he could panic, he felt the TARDIS infusing him with some of her strength. _No, don't! _She didn't seem acknowledge his cry and it wasn't long before hot feverish chills washed up his spine again, clashing with a coldness that had taken root deep within his soul. He fought against the pull of death, struggling to keep alive for just a while longer. Finally, breathing became easier. But his ship couldn't keep this up, not without dying herself. He had to hurry. With a grunt he pushed away from the support to peer inside the main cellar. It was empty.

_Rose must've lured them away through a different entrance_, he thought, feeling proud of her achievement.

The room spun. God, how he wanted was to sit down, to close his eyes, to sleep. But he stumbled forward, knocking some equipment off tables here and there. Running out of breath, he leaned against a chair and squinted at the silvery vortex generator. Dredging up the last of his strength, he then took the final steps separating him from the generator's weapon compartment. The panel slid open as he pressed a button to reveal an empty chamber normally holding the piranha gun.

Reaching for the sonic screwdriver, which Rose had returned to him, he used it on the chamber's back panel. The instrument whirred. His vision suddenly blurred and he gasped, letting go of the sonic to pinch the bridge of his nose. Wave after wave of queasiness surged through him. He closed his eyes and swallowed, gripping the generator's metallic housing with tingling fingers in a desperate attempt to keep standing upright. Slowly his head cleared, the world settled down and the generator's half loosened back panel came into focus once more.

Exhaling with relief, he silently continued to unscrew the plate and remove it from its holdings. Peering inside at the delicate innards consisting of wiring, chips and a green glow which matched that of the TARDIS core, he whistled. "You know," he whispered to the thing. "You're quite a piece of art you are." He studied the generator's power converter carefully. "Too bad I'll have to destroy you when I'm done."

Deep within the tangle of wires, he noted the 'battery' seemed to be fully charged. _Well, minus two percent that is_. Changing the generator's energy output was going to be difficult, but not impossible. It would take time.

* * *

Rose pondered her options as she followed Salliery upstairs toward the main hall. Michelle walked one step behind while Costa came last in line.

"It doesn't make sense," Michelle whispered in her ear. "If I know Luc, and your friend's ship is as powerful as you say it is, then he would've gone after it the moment you… landed."

Rose nodded. That bit bothered her too. Salliery had known about the TARDIS, he'd even anticipated the Doctor landing in one of the lavender fields, so why hadn't he gone after it? Why hadn't he ordered it to be taken onto the vineyard's grounds. Maybe he figured he had plenty of time studying the TARDIS after he got rid of the Doctor. Plausible, if it wasn't for her conviction that Luc Salliery didn't strike her as the patient type.

"This almost seemed planned," Michelle hissed.

Rose's eyes widened. _Could it? Could it be planned?_ "Why?" She whispered.

Michelle shrugged. "As a business woman you learn to make your moves at the right time, this feels like such a time. Maybe he needs us out of the way."

"Yeah, well, I needed him out of the way too, so that's good." She frowned. "Okay, so let's say," she kept her voice low, making sure their adversaries couldn't listen in. "That Luc here spoke the truth when he said taking over the TARDIS is just too much of an effort, too risky. He's not stupid. He knows so much about the Doctor, he must know he'll never be able to use her… its power."

"Or he would have tried so already," Michelle pitched in. "Instead, he kept focusing on the generator… until it fell short a lousy deux percent, non?"

Rose blinked at the sudden French words but managed to keep her pace steady. Why didn't the TARDIS translate? Worry crept up her spine again. This was too easy… way too easy. She looked over her shoulder, eying the piranha gun in Costa's hand. "Just two percent," she whispered. _The Doctor doesn't have any more in him… unless…_

Her breath caught in her throat as she suddenly realized what Salliery was up to. _NO! _She stopped dead in her tracks, eyes widening in shock and Michelle almost bumping into her. "You bastard!" she spoke out loud.

Salliery turned with a devious smile. "Worked it out have you? A bit sooner than I thought, though."

Rose was furious. "You can't do this to him!" She didn't care about her own safety anymore, all she felt was the revulsion at Salliery's plan.

Luc's answer was devastating. "I already have."

* * *

The Doctor let his head rest against the cool metal of the generator, grateful for its solid presence. The touch dissipated the pounding in his head to a more acceptable level. He felt like he was burning up and freezing at the same time. Breathing in short gasps, he squeezed his eyes shut, the darkness relentlessly pressing in on him from within.

He knew what it was like to die. After all, he'd done it nine times by now. But even though, with a couple of them, he hadn't been sure he would regenerate, there had never been such a complete certainty of death as there was now. He liked to think he was prepared, wanted to face it with all the pride and dignity of the last of the time-lords, of someone who had lived perhaps too long. But as the moment grew near and he tethered on the brink of unconsciousness, he found himself to be utterly terrified. He shivered, gritting his teeth against waves of pain emanating from that part of his chest that the piranha gun had hit full force. He pressed his hand furtively against the sore spot, not even feeling his skin anymore.

His work was done. All he needed to do now was get to the front of the generator, which turned out to be a tremendous difficult task. The TARDIS was still there, albeit on the fringes of his telepathic feelers. He felt her 'distress' as his ship was being forced out of his mind when he drifted more and more into a comatose state. His brain simply refused to cooperate with his body anymore.

Groping for the generator's huge barrel, he finally made his way to the front and staggered backward against the wall, sinking down on the floor as all feeling in his extremities left him. Drifting away on the path of oblivion, images flashed before him. Him laughing, feeling so alive in all his previous forms. The running, the danger, the thrill, the losses, the pain, the destruction of Gallifrey.

He released a soft breath, not seeing the cellar or the immense barrel of the generator anymore. His companions, why had they all gone away? How come he'd never let anyone get close to him? Clever Nissa, Sweet Tegan, his Sarah Jane, Adric… Rose... _Rose._

A small part of him, the part that was still so much alive latched onto the blonde girl swimming in and out of his dreams, fighting for him, screaming at him to hang on. He panicked and scratched with insubstantial fingers at the walls of death closing in. A growl forced itself out of his throat as he attempted to move his hand, which lifted, slowly, as if it was some sort of alien thing attached to his body. Feeling returned in his fingers and his growls reflected the bolts of pain shooting up his arm. Trying not to pass out, he lifted the sonic screwdriver still in his hand and aimed it blindly ahead. Despite the pain nearly causing him to pass out, he pressed the button.

He didn't hear the familiar whine. Had the sonic stopped working? Was it broken? Had he failed? Suddenly a loud hum shook his entire body. Then there was a white light, agonizingly blinding, penetrating his body, his mind, his soul. His lives returned, not gradually as they had been taken over the course of what had seemed like forever, but instantly, all at once as if he'd been hit by an exploding star. He couldn't even scream, the pain too overwhelming for his brain to comprehend. For a split second he realized something was terribly, terribly wrong.

Then he knew no more.

* * *

Rose pelted down the stairs, her legs being battered by the multiple steps she took. Pain shot through them, but she didn't care. _Hold on! God, Doctor… please… don't turn that thing on! He fiddled with it! Salliery fiddled with it! If you do… it'll-" _

A sudden loud hum and a soft shake of the floor made her gasp. Her heart froze in her throat as simultaneously her soul screamed at the emptiness of loss she knew was inevitable now.

She ran on, overwhelmed by grief, vaguely aware of crying a denial.

The generator had pitched in.

She was too late.

XXXXX


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

The ceiling shook with the thrumming of the generator. Small pebbles and grit dropped from above, covering her hair in a thin layer of dust. Rose frantically wiped her eyes clean as she stumbled into the main cellar. The hum vibrating through the rocky floor beneath her feet felt so much more powerful than before. And she knew why. Her heart caught in her throat when she spotted the Doctor lying in a crumpled heap on the floor opposite from the vortex machine.

"Doctor!"

He didn't move.

She reached him, skidding to a halt and dropping on her knees on the floor, which still felt warm from the energy flowing over it just seconds ago. _No, no, no, he should be movin'! He should be-" _Gripping his shoulder to turn him around, she flailed backwards when he suddenly jerked awake. Gasping with barely contained breath, he glared up at her, his eyes glowing.

Tears stung her eyes as yellow energy coursed across his skin to end up on the tips of his trembling fingers. She knew what this meant, knew that Salliery had succeeded.

He was regenerating.

His eyes focused on hers. "Rose," he spoke between gritting teeth.

To her surprise he reached out. _But, I'm not supposed to touch you, right?_ She thought, remembering how he had recoiled from her the first time he'd changed bodies. _I'm not… _Her heart won out when he dropped his hand, cringing in pain. Quickly covering his shaking fingers with her palm, she was startled to find a tingling sensation shooting up her arm.

"You can't stop it you know," Salliery's calm voice echoed through the room. He spoke with the air of inevitability.

Rose turned her head to watch Luc hovering over them as he toyed with the Piranha gun in his hand. Her eyes flicked across the rest of the empty cellar and she quickly assessed that Michelle wasn't there. Costa must have taken her upstairs. Protectively she moved closer to the Doctor, shielding him from the figure towering over her.

"Oh… yesss. I… can," The Doctor hissed.

Salliery easily stepped around Rose to face the Doctor with cold grey eyes, now sparkling with triumph. "I never thought you'd fall for this. You being so clever and all." He squatted. "Did you really think I would let you escape that easily?"

"You planned it. You planned this all…" Rose spoke hoarsely, raking a hand through her friend's hair as he moved backward and up against the wall.

Salliery grinned, the smile not reaching the corners of his mouth. He stood up. "I didn't have enough power to create a stable vortex and unfortunately I all but depleted his life force," he nodded at the Doctor with a disgusted look on his face.

"But the TARDIS. You said…"

"Oh you were right. I could never hope to control to TARDIS. No, that was just a ruse to lure you away." His gaze shifted to her. "How greedily you complied."

Rose shivered, holding onto the Doctor tightly as he sucked in a breath, yellow puffed out steam escaping his mouth. Tense agony flashed across his features. "You…" he spoke between baited breaths in a voice so low Rose barely understood him. "You want me to… regenerate."

Salliery nodded. "All I needed was two percent of power, but you were empty, drained." He stepped closer, leaning against the wall and looking down. "But oh… how I know you. Time-lords… who have this wonderful ability to change bodies. And guess what happens when you do?"

The Doctor didn't answer, just glared at Luc with undisguised hatred.

"He's bursting with power, afterwards," Rose replied softly. _Within the first twenty four hours after his regeneration cycle. He told me… I've seen it, back on that sycorax ship, when he grew another hand. _

Triumph entered Salliery's voice. "I can run the generator with it for decades to come. I simply fixed it so when it returned your lives, it would do so in one burst. How did it feel when you realized the machine kept hitting you, kept pushing you, forcing you over the edge?" His voice turned cold. "Right into a regeneration."

"It's not… going to… happen," The Doctor spoke as another burst of yellow energy rolled over him. Rose saw the scream catch on his lips as he fought the natural survival process of his body. _God, Doctor. Can you do that. Can you stop it?_

"It's already happening, Doctor. I read up on you and your pitiful species. You can't stop it."

"I_ can_. I can die… I have that much… control."

Rose's blood froze in her veins at hearing those words. She looked at him aghast, but he didn't meet her eyes, focusing on the man bearing down on him instead.

Salliery's smile faltered. "And leave her here alone with me? Come now, Doctor. I know you better than that. I can make her talk, make her scream, make her wish she was never born. And in the end, when I got all I need from her, I'll simply throw her out."

"That's not going to happen," Rose retorted, feeling angry and trapped.

Salliery looked at her, amused.

"You think I'm gonna let you blackmail 'im?" She continued. "Don't listen to him, Doctor."

The Doctor pierced Salliery with a deadly stare, the silence growing between them as Rose saw him struggling with indecision. "She's… strong," he finally murmured, his eyelids drew closed and his body relaxed beneath her hands. "She'll… survive."

"Doctor?" He stopped shivering, the yellow streaks of energy dissipating into the ground. Panic caught her throat as she realized he was dying instead of regenerating. She wanted to shout, to yell. _No! I will not let you die on the floor in some Godforsaken cellar in France! _But her mouth had stopped working as his eyes fluttered open and locked onto hers.

He seemed to have caught her thoughts anyway. "Rose… I can't let him… he'll destroy the planet, rip the universe… apart with all that power."

She nodded, she understood but refused to accept what he was telling her. Tears streaked down her face. "Is there no other way?"

He broke out in a soft smile. "No. I… I believe in you… I always have. You're… beautiful. Fantastically beautiful. And you'll live… you'll live…" He closed his eyes, falling into unconsciousness.

Rose frantically shook him, but there was no reaction. Not even the tingling sensation she'd felt earlier. His body remained still beneath her hands. As still as death. In denial she started to shake her head. "No, no you can't… Doctor!"

Salliery squatted, his calmness contradicting her grief in spades. To Rose's surprise he brought his lips close to the Doctor's ear. "Will she, Doctor?" He whispered harshly. "Will she live… when I toss her into the void."

Rose felt her friend's hand suddenly tightening in hers. Relief surged through her as his eyelids fluttered open at hearing those words, his pupils following Salliery as the man stood up folding his arms across his chest.

"You… wouldn't." The Doctor gasped.

"Oh yes." Salliery retorted, coldly. "I would. So you be a good little boy. And regenerate!"

Taken aback by the fear in the Doctor's voice, Rose spoke frightened. "The void? Doctor? What does he mean?"

He looked at her, then back at Salliery. Rose could tell he made a decision as soon as he pushed her away, releasing the contact between them. He gritted his teeth and squinted his eyes shut. Suddenly he screamed as his body convulsed. Within seconds, streaks of energy drenched his body in a yellow glow once more. Gasping continuously, the Doctor let the regeneration process take over.

"That's it… just let go…" Salliery spoke soothingly. "Everything will be okay." He lifted the gun and prepared to fire the moment the process would be complete.

* * *

The void.

Along with the Doctor's lives, his time-sense had returned and the mere contemplation of Rose being sucked into that place where time and space and matter did not exist sent shivers down his spine. The high chance of that scenario becoming reality so abundantly clear in his mind it almost made him vomit.

Avoid it from happening.

That's all he'd tried to do from the moment the beast in the pit told Rose she was going to die. As much as he loathed to regenerate, to give Salliery what he wanted, it was the only thing he could do to save Rose.

_What about the planet? Its people you've tried to protect for so long?_ The small voice in his head demanded to be heard. He hesitated. It still wasn't too late to stop the regeneration. But if he died now, Salliery would get his energy somewhere else.

Somewhere, which probably involved Rose.

Looking at his companion through lids half closed, he knew Rose was ready to jump Luc before the man could kill him. Perhaps that would give him enough time to get his bearings after the regeneration process was completed and then take Salliery down. It was little hope, but it was better than none hope at all.

Also, the TARDIS was back. She did everything in her power to stabilize a badly initiated regeneration process now stampeding through his body, but it wasn't enough. He could feel her failing, feel the pain of the life saving changes on a molecular level going all askew. She lost control as fast as he did.

He might still die, if he couldn't dampen the energy flow within him. His vision turned red, the glowing haze of power intensifying by the second. Ah… this wasn't right. Yellow… yes. Pain… okay, just a bit. But red? He desperately tried to control the energy consuming him. It was like trying to hold back an ocean with a few sticks and stones.

"Drop it!"

The Doctor blinked. _I don't think so.__If I drop my efforts, it's goodbye Rose and this world… probably.. _

"I said, drop it. Unless you want to die."

Unsure if the voice he'd just heard was real, the Doctor chanced peering through half lid eyes at his surroundings. Through the red haze he spotted Remy holding Salliery at gun point.

He couldn't help but smile a wide grin, which must look rather frighteningly. _Oh you wonderful human, you. Look at you… all brave and daring. _He watched with growing hope as Salliery dropped the gun on the floor and backed off.

"Doctor!"

Rose's voice broke through his reverie. He glared at her.

"He's gone, can you stop it, stop the process without…"

He shook his head, seeing the expression on her face fall.

"I'm sorry."

"You sure? Can't the TARDIS help?"

"'S not working." The pain became overwhelming. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open.

"What about me? Can I help?"

He was about to convey a negative when he felt her touch his shoulder. He flinched sideways, skidding away from his companion. "No, don't!"

"Doctor."

"No, Rose! I may have closed off your access to the TARDIS' heart," he bit. "But you can still channel vortex energy!"

"I can take it from you?"

To his surprise, hope tinged her voice, confusing him. "You're not listening! If you touch me, it'll channel into you. It will kill you!" _This was exactly the reason he'd backed away from her when he was still in his ninth body and regenerating._

"But you can close it off, right? Put on the lid? Channel enough into me to keep you _and_ me alive?"

He gaped at her, closed his mouth and then opened it again. Actually, that wasn't such a bad idea. "It's too risky. You won't be able to handle the flow for long."

"How long?"

"No, Rose. No."

"Doctor. How. Long."

"An hour, tops."

"That should be enough to get you back to the TARDIS."

He stared at her. _There's no talking you out of this, is there? _"You're sure you want to do this?"

Her expression determined, she nodded.

He smiled, grimly. "Get over here then."

XXXXX


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The strange tingling sensation dissipated. Rose pressed two fingers on her lips and then smiled. His eyes had lid up, shining brightly as he returned the smile only inches from her face. _God, that was… Micky's never… not like that._ She felt strangely exhilarated and wondered if this was caused by the tendrils of vortex energy twirling inside of her or by the kiss.

"Come on." The Doctor stood up and held out a hand.

A flash of disappointment welled up too quickly for her to hide it.

The Doctor spotted her expression and grimaced. "Sorry, but giving you more would be um dangerous." He stopped awkwardly, obviously unsure of what to say next.

Rose smirked.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just," she grabbed hold of his hand and he pulled her up. "Never known you to be speechless before," she teased.

"Rose this is serious!"

Her face fell. The sing song in her soul died instantly as she recalled the scenario which had sucked all air out of her lungs, how he'd been just a few minutes ago. "Did it help?" She asked quietly.

"Some," he admitted. "Good enough for now," he added more cheerfully. His face hardened as he turned away from her. Drawing up to his full height, he marched over to Salliery, who stood silently watching them, his expression unreadable.

"It's not over yet, Doctor," the man spoke coolly.

"Oh no. It isn't."

Rose shivered. She hated hearing her friend speak in that cold, unforgiving voice of his. Hated it even more than all the things Salliery could have done to him.

"Because when I'm done undoing the damage you caused, I'm coming back." The Doctor leaned in closely. His tone quieted. "I'll make sure you'll never do anything like this again."

To his credit, Salliery didn't even flinch.

The Doctor turned toward Remy. "Take him to one of those cells."

"What are you going to do?" The vineyard owner asked fearfully. Rose wasn't sure if he meant with Salliery or if it was just a general question. _Probably both, _she guessed.

"We're gonna leave," she quickly jumped in, before the Doctor could make another threatening remark. She tugged at her friend's sleeve. "Right, Doctor?"

There was a slight hesitation as the Doctor kept his eyes on Salliery. Then he moved stiffly toward the generator, reached inside and yanked out a circuit board.

Salliery's eyes widened. "You can't do that!"

The Doctor didn't speak, just defiantly looked at his former captor while he whizzed the sonic screwdriver over the board. The circuits melted in the heat of the resulting explosion. With a passionate thrust he flung the now useless bit of technology against the wall.

"You're going to pay for that," Salliery growled.

Desperately trying to negate the tension in the room, Rose tried one more time. "Doctor?"

"Right," he finally spoke, then abruptly turned, grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the cellar and into the light.

* * *

"Are we going to find Michelle first, or head back to the TARDIS?"

The Doctor didn't answer, desperately trying to repress the memory of what he'd explained to Rose was a simple genetic transfer. She'd quickly gotten over her startled shock when he'd actually leaned in to kiss her though.

"Doctor?"

And he'd liked it... a lot more than he was suppose to because he knew what he had done to her. He glanced behind him, catching her eyes. Small pinpricks of light occasionally surfaced in them, like stars in the night sky. Vortex energy, barely visible, not deadly yet but there. "There's no time, I need to get you back to the ship." His mood deteriorated. He wasn't out of the woods yet either.

"But she could be in trouble. We can't just leave her here."

His eyes lingered on hers for a while. "She can handle herself." Rose opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. "I'm not going to debate you on this. If you want to live, you'll do as I say." He sounded harsher than he wanted to, not daring to think what would happen if she didn't heed his orders now. Already he spotted dark rims around her eyes, telling him she must have a massive headache. So little time. Ironic... for a Time lord.

Rose pursed her lips, her expression darkening, her voice colder than he'd ever heard it before. "I'm not going to leave her."

Something hateful lashed out at his mind. He mentally reeled back, forgetting he'd opened himself up to her in order for the energy transfer to work. "Rose, stop it!" He grabbed her shoulder, hoping the contact would quell the bad wolf's temper inside of her.

"An hour is short enough as it is," he hissed. If anything her attack grew more aggressive. He cringed, failing to close his mind to the mental onslaught. The pain intensified and he shook her violantly. "Rose, stop it! Stop! It!"

Her eyes widened in horror as she obviously realised what she was doing. Slowly the roars in his head dissipated and he found himself sagging against the wall.

"God, Doctor," she reached forward, grabbing hold of him before he could sink to the ground. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to," Fear rolled of her in waves. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Just... please, don't do that again." He spoke hoarsely.

It was her turn to nod. "Will it... can it come back?" She asked, the fright clear in her voice.

He looked up at her distraught features, the energy still burned behind her eyes, but he felt her fingers tremble in her efforts to keep the power inside of her in check. "Headache?"

She gave him an affirmative and he reached out to placed the fingers on her temple. "There's not much time," he spoke softly, closing his eyes. "but this will help you keep control." He concentrated, the two of them staying perfectly still. When he was done he let go. "Better?"

The smile she gave him didn't reach her eyes. "It's... faded, like I'm in fog or something. What did you do?"

"Helped you erect some mental barriers. They won't last forever... but they should hold until we reach the TARDIS." _They keep you sane, help you keep hold of yourself for as long as possible. _"Like I said, not much time."

"So, no wondering off then?" She quipped half heartedly, her expression telling him she got the message.

"Nope, no wondering off. Straight bee line home would be more like it."

She smiled, genuinely this time and waited for him to take the lead.

Gathering his strength he continued walking up the stone steps. He knew he'd done the right thing for now, help her raise her mental shields, even if it did cost him more than he'd anticipated. The trouble was that he really didn't know how long they would hold.

For when the barrier went, her mind would go with it.

XXXXX


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Out.

It wanted out.

Carefully it touched the white walls. They felt sturdy, soft yet unrelenting. Angrily it scratched at it, deep gases formed within the cloudy barrier. Aha! Hope flared and its power grew.

But then the barrier smoothed over, looking as impenetrable as ever.

Screaming in fury it threw itself at the confines of its prison. It could snuff out a star, it could create supernova's, it could divide atoms, it certainly could break out here.

The walls held.

It turned, expanded, withdrew, and lashed out again.

All within the blink of an eye.

The walls held.

It tried again, and felt a pull. It screeched at the human brain, which tried to channel it into a calming state. It refused. It cried out. It turned and attacked the mind instead.

A few cracks started to form in the walls.

It laughed manically.

* * *

Rose grunted and stumbled down the steps leading away from the porch. After all this time inside the house, the rays of the early morning sun felt good on her skin. A soft breeze touched her cheeks and she'd relaxed, letting down her guard a little.

A sharp pain, like someone had stabbed a knife directly into her head, overwhelmed her. The all consuming headache blinded and deafened her. It wanted control, it wanted out, it wanted to destroy everything in its path. She succumbed to nausea and for a moment let it consume her. Laughter rose inside her.

"Rose! Fight it!"

That voice, urgent, commanding. Something shook her. Blinking, her eyesight returning, she found herself staring straight into the Doctor's brown eyes. He looked angry. Why was he angry?

She nodded, trying to comply.

The headache lessened. The laughter turned into a furious howl and softened until she barely heard it.

"Doctor! This way!"

Rose looked up to find Michelle racing for one of the three cars parked in the driveway. She went for the middle one, a small red Peugeot, which Rose figured was probably her own.

"Hurry!" Michelle urged, settling into the driver's seat and opening the passenger's door.

Trying to lift the clouds from her mind, Rose shook her head. If only she could think straight.

Someone grabbed her wrists and yanked her forward just as something small impacted into the ground next to her.

That woke her up. Suddenly aware of Joe firing at them from a large bay window next to the porch she dove for the car.

The Doctor all but threw her into the back. As he got into the passenger's seat, Michelle had already put the car into reverse.

Rose ducked as bullets whizzed past, shattering windows and upholstery. Tearing up the metal of the old vehicle. She screamed and her mind lashed out.

The bullets stopped, and so did everything around her.

She heard a vague cry, just before oblivion shattered her awareness.

* * *

"Rose, no!"

The Doctor turned halfway in his seat as the car lurched forward and Michelle let it race down the driveway. He reached out, doing the only thing he could as he already felt time slow down and stop.

Bullets hang motionless in the air, then dropped to the ground as he rendered Rose unconscious with a neck pinch. She slumped forward and time sped up again. _Sorry… I'm so sorry. But if I don't… _The bad wolf inside her would take over, just as it had on satellite nine. It would kill Joe, kill Salliery, and as much as he loathed their actions, he couldn't let it turn Rose into a killer.

"What happened to her?" Michelle shouted, her eyes flicking toward the rear view mirror.

The Doctor grimaced. The French woman wouldn't have noticed the time delay. "Just get us back to my ship as soon as possible!" he snarled, not caring if she liked his attitude right now or not. "It's on the other side of the field. Head that way!" He pointed to the lavender, which could be seen just beyond the thinning rows of wine stalks.

"Are you sure?"

"Just do it!" His patience was at an end. Rose didn't have long.

A flicker of light caught his eye. To his dismay, another car appeared behind them. A blue Ford. He recognized it as one of the cars that had been on the driveway.

Michelle noticed it too and veered the Peugeot sideways onto a small dirt road leading into the lavender fields.

The sudden turn slammed the Doctor against the door. Feeling momentarily dizzy he suddenly realized this wasn't due to the impact. Looking up, he found colours of purple and blue racing past.

The lavender.

"Are you all right, Monsieur?"

The Doctor blinked. Michelle spoke French. Lucky for him, he understood the language, but that didn't make it okay.

"Because you turn kind of yellow."

She glanced sideways as he tried to catch his breath, surprised at the vehemence of the lavender's aroma. Apparently he was still weaker than he'd thought.

He nodded in reassurance but stopped moving his head when his vision started to swim.

Michelle closed the blowers and then stared at the rear view mirror again. "They're gaining. We need a change of plan."

Before the Doctor could stop her, she steered sharply to the right and then back to the winery again using a different road. It seemed to momentarily confuse their pursuers, because they disappeared from sight.

They weren't the only ones confused, though. "What are you doing?! Take us back to the TARDIS, NOW!"

"We will never make it!" Michelle retorted. Left and right, grape vines shot past as the car raced toward a wooded area with the small village beyond.

Recovering from the onslaught of the lavender's lethal smell, the Doctor glared at her. "Rose doesn't have the time!"

"They would have overtaken us Doctor! And you were passing out on me!"

Through the windscreen the woodland cleared, making room for low stone structures with small windows. With a screech, Michelle halted the little car on the cobbled square in the middle of the village.

Nervously she looked over her shoulder. "It will not be long before they are on my trail again. I suggest you get out now."

"What?"

"I will head back and draw them away from you." She explained quickly. There's a path leading down from the village, circumventing the lavender fields. You will not have to go through them to reach your ship. Then you can come back and rescue me, yes?"

Impressed by her sharp mind, he nodded. "Right." Getting out he nearly fell on his knees with exhaustion. Michelle was right. He wasn't sure if he could've handled another trip through those bloody flower beds. Regaining his composure, he dragged Rose out of the backseat and pulled her onto a nearby bench. Behind him, Michelle closed the door and the car sped away in a flurry of dust.

Silence descended.

This early in the morning, not one of the villagers was awake yet. He looked around, trying to get his bearings. The small square was surrounded on all sides by small shops and restaurants. Closed parasols and upturned chairs on tables told him this place was frequently visited by tourists. A hotel stood to the left, its balconies laden with red and white flowers. He sighed with relief. No lavender, this time.

A small fountain adorned the center of the square. Turning his attention back to the bench, situated against the stone structure of the now dried up water feature, the Doctor frowned as he noticed his companion's bleak complexion.

He squatted in front of her and lifted an eyelid. Yellow energy glowed softly through unseeing pupils. He was out of time. "Damn," he whispered and closed his eyes.

All he could do now was take back what he'd given her. Knowing he wouldn't last long after the reversal process was complete, the Doctor was sure of one thing.

He could not let her die.

XXXXX


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Joe stared stricken at the generator. "I don't believe this," he whispered hoarsely. "Fix it!" He turned to glare at Salliery. To his satisfaction Remy pressed the gun harder into Luc's side.

"I can't, I have no idea what he's done!" Salliery spat at him from his position near one of the work benches.

"The hell you can't! It's overloading! Slowly but steadily." Behind Joe, the generator released soft beeps.

Luc threw him a forced grin. "Well, well, well. Guess the Doctor did something right, after all."

"I can't believe he would purposely blow up half of France," Remy spoke, taken aback.

Joe took a deep breath, trying to calm down. Joining up with Salliery had been a mistake from the beginning. They'd lost the Doctor. Even lost Michelle during the car chase from hell and somehow ended up back here when he'd realized she'd dropped the two escapees off somewhere. Now he was faced with a danger that had the potential to destroy a significant part of Europe. The Doctor had created some sort of feedback loop inside the generator, and he couldn't stop it. This was way out of his league. Asking Torchwood for a team of specialists wasn't an option either, since the thing would blow up way before they got here.

He grimaced, raking a hand through his hair. There was only one man who could stop this. "He can't have gotten far on foot. We have to find him," he stated, leaving no room for anyone to challenge his words. Least of all Remy. He looked sharply at the vineyard owner. "You know him better than any of us. Any clues would be highly appreciated right now."

There was no answer.

"Come on, Remy. Either we find him, or France goes up in a ball of fire. And that includes your wife!"

"His ship," the vineyard owner finally sighed. "He'll need it to take care of this. Find it and you'll find him."

Joe stared at him for a moment longer before ripping his attention away and stalking out of the main cellar. "Costa! Where the hell are you! I need your help. Now!"

* * *

Bright light pushed away the darkness, turning from blue to red to yellow. Rose opened her bleary eyes to look straight into the morning sun, rising on what promised to be a hot day. Its rays covered her like a warm blanket as she became aware of how cold she felt. The shape of buildings, basking in the glow of dawn confused her. _What happened? Where am I?_

She lifted her head, realizing she'd been leaning on something soft. Her hand pushed off against warm skin and clothing. "Doctor?" She blinked, taking a deep breath, willing her vision to fully focus. Whipping around she found herself sitting next to a fountain on a park bench in the middle of a town square. She'd leaned into the Doctor, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. His eyes were closed.

She didn't remember anything after getting into that car. "Doctor?" Panic touched her voice when her friend sat unmoving as if he was fast asleep. Any moment now he would snap his eyes open, look at her and declare with a huge grin how happy he was to see her awake. They would hug, and everything would be okay. The knot in her stomach twisted when she got no reaction at all. Past events came rushing back at her. The lavender, Salliery, the gun, what she'd done to save the Doctor. _The vortex… I can't feel it!_ That means he took it back. _He took it back!_

"You stupid-!" She grabbed him by the shoulders, fear lashing into her, turning her insides, and cajoling into a whole new level of panic. "Doctor!" He didn't move. Even as she shook him, gripped his hand, slapped his cheek, there was no sign that he'd heard her. Her eyes blurred and she leaned in to feel soft air brushing her skin.

He was still breathing.

Something was wrong, missing. With a pang of worry she noticed there was no yellow energy, no vortex power. His skin was cooling. He was not regenerating. No. "You bloody well fight this, mister! You brought me into this mess and you can get me out! After all you've been through, you can't let Salliery win-" She couldn't finish her diatribe. Choking on her breath and letting out a soft sob she pulled him in.

The village around her lay as silent as her friend in her arms. She leaned back, feeling utterly exhausted. There was still time. Movement in the restaurant ahead caught her eye. If they would let her borrow a car or something, she could still get The Doctor to the TARDIS. But she had no clue where they were in relation to the ship. She could be searching forever and still not find it and he didn't have that kind of time.

She had to try, had to do something. Reluctantly, Rose pushed the Doctor off her lap, and lowered him onto the bench while standing up. She lifted his legs and stretched them on the wooden seat. "I'll be back, Doctor. Just hang in there." Gently, she kissed him on his forehead.

She snapped around at the sound of a car approaching. Dust blew in her face at the red vehicle screeched to a halt in front of her. Protectively stepping in front of her friend, Rose straightened, then breathed a sigh of relief when Michelle exited the car.

"Rose!" She spoke her voice thick with a French accent. "What are you still doing here? You must leave, now! Oh."

The fact that Michelle spoke English, that it wasn't translated by the TARDIS, made Rose turn around with worry. The Doctor's chest still rose and fell, but his breath's were short and halted. They needed to hurry. She looked back at Michelle who had followed her gaze but apart from the 'oh' kept silent. Rose tried to keep her composure, really worked hard at keeping her face straight. "Can you help me lift him," she swallowed, cursing the sob that managed to escape between the words. "Take him back to his ship?"

"That's why I came to find you. Joe found it and he's bringing it in. He's right behind me."

Rose felt her heart plummet as she realized what this meant. "Michelle, there's nowhere else to go." Her voice broke, strength finally shattering on the walls Salliery had pulled up to keep them from escaping. "He only has a few minutes left…" She whispered.

Suddenly, from between two buildings another car raced onto the square. Rose recognized Joe's blue Ford. Another car was heading toward them from the opposite direction, all converting on the fountain, on her, on the Doctor. The vehicles stopped a good couple of feet away. Numbly she watched as Joe, Costa and Remy piled out of them and moved to close her in.

It was over.

Rose took a deep breath and clenched her fist in an attempt to stop it from shaking. You're not taking him. Not now. Not ever! Glaring at the men she took a protective step backwards. She would defend him with her life or die trying.

* * *


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's notes: **well, here it is. The final chapter. It took me a while to post this, because I wanted to revise the previous chapters first. They're all newly edited and re-uploaded.

My heartfelt thanks goes to my beta reader Starsky's Strut, whose dedication to beta this story knew no boundaries. I'm deeply indebted to her. All remaining mistakes are mine.

Last but not least I need to thank all of you. When I started this story I had not anticipated so many readers liking this. I wrote it because, well, because of my love for the show of course, but also because there are precious few Doc Whump stories out there. Who knows, maybe I will do another one someday. But for now a 'Stargate Atlantis' story is next, and I'm going to sit back, relax and enjoy the next season of Doctor Who starting in April.

Thanks for sticking with me. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

EDIT: I made a few changes due to Driessen's excellent point made in the reviews.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

Even though her dad had died early, her life had never been a lonely one. There was her mom, who'd tried so hard to compensate for her father's absence. There were her friends at school, and at gymnastics, and later there were Shareen and Micky. They'd provided a solid safety net, always there when she fell, got dumped by her first boyfriend, or quit her education and took a job instead.

Standing in front of the fountain, she wasn't prepared for that dreadful feeling of loss and uncertainty to attack her again. Like it had when the Doctor had first regenerated. But even then, she'd had her family, ready to catch her, giving her back the strength she needed.

Joe, Costa and Remy moved in and Rose couldn't help but feel utterly alone. The unfamiliar surroundings only succeeded in raising her anxiety up a notch. She stood and shivered in the gusts of wind breezing over the cobble stoned square and playing with the occasional leaf dropped from the heavy flower laden balconies.

Behind her the Doctor's struggle for breath became harder, his life fading, slipping through her fingers. The last of the Time Lords, a legendary race of people would simply pass away, erased from existence as he lay on a bench in some out of the way place of Europe that nobody had ever heard of. His chest would stop rising and falling, and his skin would grow cold like the life she'd had before she'd met him.

All to save her.

Rose blinked, cursing the weakness inside her: an agony she didn't want to register yet. But the fear was there. There was no one to catch her now. She'd given up so much just to be with him and remembered Sarah Jane's words as clearly as if the woman stood in front of her. Some things are worth getting your heart broken for. She agreed, she still did. But that didn't prepare her for the heart wrenching emptiness, for feeling solid ground swept from under her until she tumbled into the dark pit of hell in which enemies closed in as she tried to defend the shadowing life behind her.

Her fingers balled to a fist. She loved him, she'd always known that and never regretted her decision to stay with him. Involuntarily taking a step back, Rose heard her voice crack as she shouted a desperate warning. "Stay where you are! Don't come near 'im, you hear!" It sounded pathetic, small and powerless. A last attempt to save what was already lost.

To her surprise the three men stopped.

Her teeth clattered, her heart raced with adrenaline as Remy stepped forward. She felt like a lioness protecting her cubs. Although she was sure the Doctor wouldn't thank her for comparing him to a cat, even if it was a small one. The humorous thought shattered on the bitterness of the situation before it could make her laugh. She pursed her lips tightly together, the muscles in her face hurting with the effort. "Stop right there!" She cried again, keeping the tears from her voice.

"Rose, we're not here to hurt you," Remy spoke. He sounded tired.

"No, you're here to hurt him. You and your 'friends.' She waved at Costa and Joe. Having felt more grief in these last couple of days than she had in her lifetime, exhaustion caused her to waver on her feet and she took another step back. Michelle caught her arm, but Rose shrugged lose, she couldn't afford to look like a weak school girl right now.

"The Doctor did something to the generator," Joe pitched in. "We need him to fix it."

"Fix it?" Rose repeated. "Make everything all right like he always does?" She couldn't help a grieved sob from escaping. "He's dying from… from what you did to him," she glared at Remy, who seemed to shrivel beneath her accusation. Her voice softened at the guilt in his eyes. She was never an eye for an eye kind of girl. "An' even if he could. Why would he want to fix the thing that's causing him to lose his life?"

"Because," Joe stepped forward next to Remy. "when it blows, it's going to take half of this continent with it."

Rose's eyes widened as she tried to grasp what Mason was telling her.

"He created some sort of overload," Joe continued. "one only he can stop." He took another step toward her. Rose, trembling on her feet, stubbornly staying put. Joe tried to glance past her at the figure on bench, then his eyes locked on her again. He took a deep breath. "He's too smart not to know what he was doing. He set us up, Rose. He knew we would have to come looking for him, knew we would have to give him his ship back, in order to stop the feedback loop in the generator."

The implication of his words had her gob smacked for a moment. A contingency plan? She almost whipped around to glare at her silent friend, not knowing whether she felt angry, hurt or relieved. You planned all this! It certainly sounded like him. He wasn't the kind of guy to roll over and die, not if he had anything to say about it. And God knew he'd wriggled himself out of potential deadly situations before. "You have to save the Doctor? If you want him to save you. Is that what you're sayin'?"

Remy showed the ghost of a smile. "Quite clever, Non?"

A hiccupping breath caught her attention and this time, Rose turned around and was on her knees in no time. The Doctor's ragged breathing halted beneath the touch of her hands. She felt his heart beats slow beneath her fingers. "Doctor! Come on. Just a second longer. I'll get you to the TARDIS. You just hang on, you hear?" Her voice fell quiet as his muscles suddenly spasmed and his whole body started to shake violently. Even unconscious, he still fought death as hard as when he was full of life. She grabbed his trembling arms, holding them down to keep him from falling off the bench. A tear ran down her cheek, more followed, accumulating into a waterfall when she realized these were his final struggles. "We're too late," she whispered through a thick throat. "The TARDIS…. It's too far away. It's…"

"Right around the corner," Costa supplied.

It took a moment for the words to register. She looked over her shoulder. "What?"

"Your ship," Remy explained. "Costa here picked it up from the fields. It's sitting on a Lorry, just over there." He waved at a side street.

Not wasting time at their sudden change of luck, Rose draped a limb around her shoulders. They had a chance… albeit small, but perhaps it was all the Doctor needed. "Remy, help me, pick him up!" She ordered, figuring the vine yard owner knew all about the ship anyway. She glared at the men, daring them to follow her and her precious cargo.

"Don not worry, Rose," Michelle spoke, startling her. She 'd forgotten the French woman still stood at her side. "I will make sure they stay where they are."

"You and what army?" Costa growled.

Joe quickly stepped in front of the Spaniard. "We'll keep away from the ship, but you have to hurry, Rose. The generator could go at any moment."

"Just give 'im a chance to live first, okay?"

The Doctor's trembles had stopped, and he'd gone limp. His sudden stillness increased her worry ten fold, tightening her chest until the tension seemed to tear her lungs apart. Bile rose up in her throat but she couldn't stop to check his breathing, his heartbeats, whether or not he was still alive.

All she could do was hope that the Doctor would hang on for just a minute longer, that the TARDIS would perform a miracle and that they would all live happily ever after.

* * *

"Theta. Theta!"

The Doctor blinked, not sure if someone called him. He turned to find Firenni leaning against a tree -his TARDIS, the Doctor noticed- looking as healthy as ever. Wind played with blond bangs above amused eyes full of life.

"I haven't been called by that name in a long, long time." He looked around, but all he saw was forest and more forest. It felt peaceful. He glared at his friend. "Where am I?"

"Oh, you know, here and there. You touched me when I died. So you could say I'm just an image etched into your mind."

Looking up, the Doctor gazed at the clear blue sky. For the first time since the destruction of Gallifrey he felt truly at ease. The feeling of quilt and grief, of trying so hard to move on after having lost everything, had vanished.

He eyed the apparition, for that's what he stubbornly called it for now, suspiciously. "I'm not dead, am I?"

Firenni laughed, shaking his head. "No, not yet, but you're close."

The Doctor nodded, weariness clouding his heart. "I'm tired, Firen. Tired of going on and on and on. All that fighting and for what?"

"You know the answer to that, Theta. Even now you still want to live."

Burrowing his hands in his trouser pockets, the Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Are you saying I have a choice?"

"If you say so. I'm not going to lie to you. It's going to get tougher. If you do this, the road ahead won't be any less lonely than it was in the past."

"You mean I'll lose Rose?"

Firenni gave a sad smile. "You know as well as I do that the future isn't written yet. We're Time Lords, Theta. We have a certain amount of … say in the matter."

"You're not real."

"No. So, what's it going to be… Doctor?"

He grinned widely.

* * *

The Doctor stood with trembling fingers at the TARDIS' console. He was still shaking, still not a hundred percent, but he was healing. Waking up in the ship's infirmary, seeing Rose relieved features, he couldn't tell her how much this lousy trip to France had unsettled him. So, he'd fallen back on his usual perky self.

"What's happened to her?" Rose stood quietly a ways of on the raised platform, looking more lost than ever. Even the TARDIS had trouble keeping her engines going. Her mechanical wheeze sounded strained, painful even, reflecting the Doctor's inner struggle to stay up on his feet.

He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs clouding his mind. He didn't remember much of the last hour. There was this dream, but the images were as illusive as butterflies, fluttering away like smoke in the wind. "She'll be all right." He pulled a lever and rigged the energy flow so the TARDIS could 'breathe' more easily. "She just gave a bit too much trying to heal me. Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure."

"But you can still make it to the estate." Remy leaned against the railing by the door.

The Doctor glared at him, then nodded. Having Remy in the TARDIS didn't sit well with him. And consequently caused a bit of trouble. It took a bit of convincing from the Doctor's side for his ship to let the man out of the infirmary. As long as the man who'd betrayed him stayed out of the console's range, he'd be fine. Smirking at the sour looking vineyard owner, the Time Lord recalled the sudden zap when Remy had ventured too close to the TARDIS' heart with satisfaction. If he squinted, he could still see the man's hair standing on end. Pulling another lever and releasing the 'handbrake', the engines started to shake the grating beneath their footing.

When the sound of the ship told him they were traveling inside the vortex, the Doctor had trouble keeping his hands steady. He swallowed a rising nausea and crunched his eyes shut for a moment. He looked up in time to see his friend's worried look. "Not now, Rose," he snapped, knowing he wasn't fair to her. But he really didn't have the time, he needed to concentrate. Making silent calculations in his head, he let the TARDIS materialize around the vortex generator, right after he'd homed in on the fifty first century weapons stashed in one of the cellar's. The two jumps were tricky and it was a good thing the generator wasn't creating a wormhole of it's own, or landing could have become quite nasty. "Right!" He chirped as the ship's console died down and a huge laser-shaped form appeared inside his ship behind him. A frantic beep replaced the sound of the TARDIS' beating engines. "That's it, we're here!"

He jumped up the platform, with much more energy than he had to spare and pelted for access panel to the generator's complicated innards. The beeping increased and he quickly pressed the button to release the steel plating with a whoosh. It took only a few seconds of fumbling with the sonic screwdriver, a yank on the critical wires inside and a solid bump to the machine's funnel for the beeping and humming to cease. He turned. "All done, threat eliminated, planet saved."

An uncomfortable silence greeted him.

"Kind of risky, wasn't it?" Remy broke the still air. "Gambling with the whole of France on the off chance we would get you to your ship in time. You could have waited in the cellar. If you'd told us about the sabotage, we would have agreed to get the TARDIS."

"No, couldn't do that." He shot back coldly, flicked his eyes to Rose and back to Remy again. "There was a small chance the generator would blow up too early," Rose soaked up so much of my energy. She could barely handle it. Combine that with an unstable rift created by you and Salliery right where we were sitting, and things could have gone very bad for the entire universe if she'd stayed where she was." Remy nodded, catching on to his train of thought. The Doctor walked over to him. "I had to get her out of there," he spoke too soft for Rose to hear. When the man didn't say more, he continued. "You can go," he told him brusquely. "Oh and Remy?"

The vineyard owner, only to happy to leave the ship turned on his way out. "Yes?"

"Don't bother looking for the weapons Salliery brought with him. You won't find them."

Remy nodded in understanding. "You're not coming?"

"Better not," he stated, not feeling up to setting one foot in that vine cellar again. I might be tempted to destroy the place entirely.

Rose stepped forward. "I'll go. Can I do that? Say goodbye? Doctor?"

Her unusual meek voice made him acutely aware again of how young she was, how much she acted on instinct, and how he couldn't just leave without giving her the closure she craved for. If he'd been alone, he'd been off to the stars right now. But after nine hundred years, it was Rose who'd taught him that to cope, you sometimes needed to forgive. And who was he to take that from her?

So although he didn't like it, he gave his assent. Watching her walking out the door, he couldn't help but feel proud of her again.

"Blimey," Rose spoke, walking up the console. The door slammed closed behind her. "That was the sweetest goodbye I've ever had, considering what they did to you." Beneath her the grating started to shake and the sound of engines filled the air. The Doctor circled the console, obviously not wasting any time taking off. "Joe promised his government will take care of Salliery, whatever that may mean. Remy actually hugged me, and Michelle was all tears. I think she's grown quite fond of you."

With both hands busy pressing buttons which function Rose could only guess at, the Doctor gave her an incredulous look. "Well, the feeling's not mutual," he scowled.

"No surprise there," she sighed and jumped on one of the chairs. The noise of the engine steadied to a comfortable pace as the Doctor pulled one last lever. For the first time she noticed his hands were shaking. "You, okay?" She swallowed, bracing herself for being rebuffed again.

He took in a deep breath, then looked at her, the muscles in his face too tight to be his usual enthusiastic self. His brown eyes studied her, twirling with a hint of despair. She sensed he was about to close down on her, tell her he was fine and change the subject to something ridiculous as going to a planet harboring dogs with no noses. "Doctor?"

To her surprise his gaze grew thoughtful and he shook his head. Stumbling back, he sat down next to her on a chair and lowered his head to press both palm of his hands into his eyes. He groaned. "I don't know, Rose. Am I?"

Worriedly, she kept silent.

He looked up, and not saying a word, he just pulled her in. "Thank you," he whispered.

Closing her hands around him, Rose nodded into his shoulder. His sudden openness startled her, but that didn't keep her from holding on tightly. "What you need," she smiled, letting go. "Is a good cup of tea."

His grin lightened her heart. "That, Rose Tyler," he all but exclaimed. "is exactly what might do the trick." His age-lines faded and the sparkle in his eyes returned. Yes, he was going to be fine.

* * *

**Epilogue**

When Rose mentioned the tea, he hadn't quite pictured her serving the brew while at the flat on the Powell estate. At first he'd protested, but she was adamant. And he had to admit she'd been right.

Lying on the Tyler's couch, tucked beneath a woolen blanket it felt kind of nice to be fussed over for a change. Certain that he would have resisted a lot more to all the pampering, had he not been so tired –after all, he didn't do domestic- he closed his eyes.

He wondered how long this peace would last. How long before he'd be the cause for the quiet of this family to shatter into a million pieces. His time sense told him something was coming. But maybe… just maybe… he could beat the odds this time. Maybe they could do it.

Rose and him.

So for now, he didn't care, for once he just enjoyed. He let himself drift back into a healing coma. She was safe, they were all safe.

For now, he was home.

**The end.**


End file.
